linked through generations
by SparkyBubbles
Summary: No matter how many times they reincarnate, they still fall in love with each other, every single time. — lenku. / drabble/one-shot collection. open for requests and prompts. / current chapter: Decay
1. Perfection Seeker

**A/N: Uh, everyone did a drabble series at least once, so I thought why not?**

* * *

I. Perfection Seeker

 _"I'm not perfect and this disgusts me. Because I must be perfect."_

* * *

He was scrubbing his body. His chest, his arms, his legs, everything. He was trying to get rid of the repulsive dirt on him. He kept scrubbing. The dirt was still there. He scrubbed harder, faster, until his skin was irritated and red, until it hurt, until he let out a yelp whenever he touched the deep red spot on his skin.

He still felt dirty.

Something wet that wasn't the water coming from the shower was trickling down his cheeks - he noticed he was crying, crying out of disappointment and self-hate. He still couldn't remove the dirt, though his body was completely clean and fair despite the red spots on him. His eyes couldn't see the disgusting slime covering him, but he knew it was there. He still wasn't perfect.

He could only be hers once he got rid of his imperfections.

* * *

Her figure glowed in an inhumane light, so pure and angelic that it almost blinded him - it was too much for a mere mortal's eyes. Her laugh was lighthearted and cheerful, the beautiful soprano echoing in his ears endlessly. Her skin was pale but not sickly pale, fair, creamy. He craved to run his fingers on it. Her hair was in an unique shade of teal, flowing behind her with the gentle breeze.

She was perfect, utterly perfect. His unworthy eyes had seen a perfect human being.

 _Miku Hatsune was perfect._

"Oh, you must be Len Kagamine, right?" he was stunned at how gorgeous her voice sounded, and she just spoke his name. It was an amazing sensation to hear his name rolling through that flawless tongue. He was unworthy of such honor. She giggled, music to his ears and he felt he could die happy. "It's nice to meet you."

And she didn't know how nice it felt to have met her to him. That bright smile made his very soul shiver in delight and he wanted more. It was when he noticed something extremely important...

He wasn't perfect like her.

They couldn't be together.

His heart broke and he fought to not cry. She wouldn't love him because he wasn't perfect. She wouldn't look at him because he was dirty - so very dirty - and smelled like garbage. He was garbage compared to her. This hurt him, but then he made a decision, so he could be with her.

He _would_ become perfect.

* * *

No matter how much he scrubbed himself, the slime didn't come off. He was frustrated, digging his nails into the skin of his arm and scratching himself in an attempt to remove the dirt with his bare hands. It hurt, it hurt so damn much, but he didn't care. He must be perfect. If he didn't become perfect, Miku would never love him.

He must be perfect. He must be. He must. He...

" _God, why can't I be perfect already?!_ " he yelled at himself, slapping his cheeks, scratching his arms and legs, scrubbing his chest, gripping his hair. Nothing changed. He was imperfect, so _disgustingly_ imperfect. He was so _horribly ugly_ , covered in flaws. He hated himself, _he hated himself_ , **_he hated himself_** , he hated, he hated...

He should die.

The sound of the shower wasn't louder than his heartbeats, telling him that he was alive... and _imperfect_.

* * *

He watched her from afar, loved her from afar. Always far away from her, but near enough to hear her voice clearly and dream. He dreamed about her, when he become perfect and they were together. He dreamed about kissing her, showering her with gifts, feeling the warmth of her delicate hand.

He loved her so deeply.

Miku didn't notice his presence - it was expected - and talked to some girls, unworthy as him of her heavenly voice. She was eating a slice of chocolate cake gracefully and he felt jealous of the cake. It seemed flawless enough to be eaten by her, to be kissed by those lips and feel the warm insides of her mouth. It would be digested and become part of her flesh and blood. It would be closer to her than he was.

The cake was so _lucky_.

He stared down to the banana on the plate, narrowing his eyes. Time was passing, his chances were vanishing, he must become perfect really soon.

* * *

Miku walked to him and asked with her melodious voice, "Len, do you want to hang out with me?"

Those words... he waited since forever to hear them. She couldn't possibly mean like a date since he was imperfect. Maybe she was doing this out of pity of the pathetic him. Nonetheless, his chest felt warm. "I... I would love to." Perhaps, he finally became perfect and he didn't notice the change. A smile spread through his lips by itself.

He was perfect, finally perfect.

 _He was so happy._

* * *

They were strolling through the park, the moon glowing above them with its beautiful white light. Miku was holding his hand. He thought he would burst out of happiness. The good sensations were overwhelming him, he couldn't remove the smile from his face. He couldn't. Her palm was smooth like he had imagined.

She suddenly halted in her steps. He couldn't tell what was in her mind and this made her even more beautiful. "Len, I know you often stare at me." He wasn't as shocked as he thought he would be if Miku discovered this. He was entranced by her green eyes, so he was nodding absent-mindedly. "I wanted to know why. Do you honestly find me this interesting?"

He didn't hesitate in smiling and exclaiming, "Yes, Miku. I do, I really do! You're so beautiful, so perfect. I really love you!" the words came out before he could think in what he was saying, and just like this, he straight out told her his feelings. Miku seemed surprised by his confession, but nevertheless smiled.

Something in her smile was odd, wicked, however he was too hypnotized by her eyes to notice. "Oh, really? Well then, will you do whatever I told you to?"

"Yes! Just said it, _I will do it!_ " He would do anything to please Miku. She was perfect, after all.

* * *

She licked the warm red liquid off her fingers, finally satisfied after some many decades starving. Her victim, the foolish boy once named Len Kagamine, was laying dead on the ground, his body mutilated and soaked in his own blood.

"You were a delicious meal, Len Kagamine." She said to the corpse growing rapidly colder. There was a smile on his intact face, gentle and forever frozen. "How awful, I was terribly hungry because if not, I wouldn't have killed you."

As she ate him, she noticed those scratches on his skin, all recently done. They were made by himself, but for what reason she didn't know. His organs were warm and juicy, like she adored. He had a noticeable flavor resembling tropical fruit such as banana. Right now, his insides were clean of flesh and blood, the white bones sticking out illuminated by moonlight.

She admitted he was a beautiful boy, with feathery golden hair and striking light blue eyes. She shook her head, amused at how different their concepts of perfection were. He called her perfect, she didn't think so. For her, he was perfect, not her. She was a supernatural scavenger and human flesh eater - a ghoul - and just this.

She was disgusting, unworthy of his affection, and yet he was willing to let her satisfy her empty stomach from him. He didn't resist her. He winced and groaned but never screamed. He died smiling after she told him that she was full.

 _He was perfect._

She felt truly alone after so many centuries in the same situation. It was the first time she felt bad for eating someone. But if she didn't, she would feel an agonizing pain. She wouldn't die, only suffer.

'Maybe we can meet each other in your next life. I promise I won't be hungry then.'

The ghoul in the guise of a girl turned around and walked away, vanishing into the cold night.

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 **A/N: Ha! You didn't expect this, did you? Review if you like plot twists. :3**


	2. Innocent Romance

II. Innocent Romance

 _"We're polar opposites. We should hate each other, and yet I love her with all my heart."_

* * *

It was just another moonlit night sneaking out from his home. Len could be an angel yes - the white wings on his back were the proof - but he wasn't the most obedient, so when he wanted to sneak out of Heaven to see the mortal world, he often did. Len was a curious and adventurous child, and he liked to know about humans. They were so different from him as well as their world that he couldn't help it but come and see it with his own eyes sometimes - the stories of the archangels weren't enough for him. He wanted to know more.

He kept his wings folded on his back as he walked through a forest, uneasy at how dark this place was. If the tree branches weren't blocking the way to the sky, Len had already escaped from there. He sighed. 'I shouldn't have come here. Now, I'm lost.' He had to hurry since he had a certain time limit in Earth before Meiko discovered he was missing - if she knew, he would be in trouble because angels couldn't go to the mortal world without previous permission, even less a child such as him.

His steps were silent and steady, hiding his inner fear of going back too late and be scolded for sneaking out. Eventually he reached a hill, clear from any trees to block the night sky. Len smiled, checking mentally how much time he has before going back - around ten minutes or so. Nodding, he looked to the sky, gazing in awe at the stars. In Heaven, he could see the stars, but in the mortal world, they oddly seemed more beautiful, mainly when he was far away from one of those large human cities, with their artificial flashing lights.

He then noticed he wasn't alone. There was someone sitting on the hill completely distracted by stargazing. It was dark but he knew they were no angel as he couldn't see any sign of wings. 'A human, perhaps?' Len wondered whether he should go and greet the human or stay where he was. 'Well... it wouldn't be so bad, right? It's not like they would hit me, right...?' if he wasn't wrong, humans saw angels as benevolent, so it was nearly impossible that they reached bad.

At least, he hoped.

Spreading his wings, he flew toward the human as quietly as he could to not startle them and landed behind them. This human had long hair and a petite body, kinda like his own. 'A human child? Ah, a human girl! Girls have long hair!' he nodded to himself, slightly relieved that she wasn't an adult - Meiko often said the adults were usually more violent to the unknown than children as children were open to see new things and were easily awed. 'I can make a human friend.' And yet, he couldn't find his voice despite how eager he was.

He was nervous. Len wasn't a social angel and was really shy toward strangers, so it didn't surprise him that much when he found himself unable to utter a single word. He didn't want to frighten the girl, however standing there was rather creepy in his opinion. Gulping down his fear and gathering his courage, he summoned his timid voice, "Uh, hi."

These two words were enough to make the girl jump and turn her head, staring at him with wide eyes. Len didn't know why but just looking at this girl made him blush. His emerald green eyes were eventually drawn to a pair of grey blue horns poking out of her dark teal hair tied in pigtails. He blinked in confusion. 'Humans don't have horns.' He noticed her skin was lilac and she had a tail wrapped around her waist. 'Oh... she's a demon.' He wasn't disappointed as his thought sounded to be.

He never saw a demon before, and despite the warning of his superiors to not get near a demon as they're evil creatures that shouldn't exist and the only thing they care about is spreading chaos through the mortal world, he often daydreamed about meeting one. Although their description of being hideous monsters, Len actually found this demon girl pretty. If it wasn't for her obvious demonic features, he could easily mistake her for a wingless angel.

While Len smiled warmly at her, the demon girl scowled at him. "An angel?! You came here to kill me?" she tried to scratch him with her long nails, but luckily he dodged the attack in time before she could reach his skin. "And they sent a little boy to kill me. I know I'm not the strongest around, but they shouldn't underestimate me!" she tried again, this time only cutting part of his hair.

"Wait! I'm not here to kill you!" he ducked again to avoid another attack. "Wait, listen to me, miss!"

"Why should I? You angels are all the same! I shouldn't believe in pathetic creatures such as you." He frowned. For some reason, being called as pathetic irritated him. The demon girl continued her frenzied attacks until she tripped on a rock and fell flat on her face onto the grass. "Ow..." she moaned quietly, sounding calmer after the fall. Len had to put a hand over his mouth to silence his laughs - it wasn't nice to laugh at her, but he couldn't help it.

Sighing, he kneeled down and held out a hand, smiling gently. "Are you okay? Let me help you." Though he spoke as sweetly as he could, the demon girl slapped his hand away, refusing his help, seemingly disappointed at herself. He stared as she sat on the grass and kept her gaze directed to her hands instead to him. Did demons hate angels so much? He never did anything bad to her.

"I do not need pity from an angel." Her voice sounded broken, sad. He frowned, wishing to do something to cheer her up. "I'm not this pathetic." Well, she indeed sounded pathetic. Len pitied her. Such a cute girl shouldn't look sad, it didn't fit her. 'How can I cheer her up?' he had no idea of what could cheer up demons. Usually when his sister Rin was sad, he asked Kaito to make her favorite orange sorbet. But he knew nothing about this demon girl and surely orange sorbet wouldn't cheer her up even if he had one with him.

Without any ideas, he approached her, put his fingers on the corners of her mouth and, ignoring her protests, spread them to the sides, thus making her smile... sort of. "There. A smile is more fitting with your cute face." For some reason he didn't understand, she narrowed her eyes and pushed him away, though he could see she was blushing faintly. He was not expecting such reaction, so he stumbled back and fell on his butt. "Ow! Hey, what are you doing?"

"What were you doing?" She demanded back, pointing to her mouth.

"Trying to cheer you up. I was making you smile." Len replied without a second thought. The girl widened her eyes and shook her head, recovering the irritated expression as she stood up, looking down at him. He wondered what he did of wrong.

"Then, why did you call me cute?" she raised an eyebrow.

'Is being called cute an insult in demon culture?' he questioned himself. He often said this to girls in Heaven when he found one sad and worked, but then again, he knew nothing about demons, so perhaps he may have said something wrong. He hoped she was just overreacting. "Uh, because you are cute. Very cute, by the way." He made an innocent face to convince her that his intentions weren't bad - though this time he was being sincere, he often uses this face to get out of trouble when he caught doing something wrong.

The demon girl blushed harder at him, embarrassed for pushing him so harshly, and held out a hand for him - the innocent face always works. He took it gladly. "I'm sorry. I thought... I thought you were poking fun out of me..." she gulped. Len wondered what made her think this. After all, he was an angel and angels don't poke fun out of someone. Sure he teased, but he never meant his words - he wasn't doing it out of malice.

"Why would I do this?" he tilted his head.

"Well..." she rubbed her neck. She then reluctantly replied, "I... I have no wings..."

Now he remembered. Meiko said demons have bat-like wings on their backs, which were hideous in comparison to angels'. But this girl had no wings on her back, and possibilities began forming in his head - did someone cut them down? Maybe as a punishment or out of a sick amusement? Rage boiled inside of him. "Why?" he spoke almost growling. Nobody should have their wings cut down, angel or demon. It was a cruel thing to do.

"I was born without them."

The rage instantly vanished. "Oh..." he felt stupid for feeling angry for someone who did nothing to her. He mentally shook his head. 'Wait, I felt angry? For her?' he rarely felt angry for anything, yet the possibility of this girl suffering made him furious. 'B-but... I just met her!' it wasn't like this girl was like Rin or Gumi, who were his sister and his friend respectively. He didn't even know her name!

"The demons mock me all the time and my parents hate me, calling me as useless and imperfect. I can't walk out of home without others throwing things at me... and... I don't even have wings to fly away." He gasped as she poured her heart out, confused whether he should feel sad for her or angry at the ones who do these things to her. Her life was so difficult compared to his. He always had everything - kind parents, a nice sister, funny friends, the strict but patient Meiko... He was so sheltered back in Heaven that he couldn't believe that someone suffered everyday like her.

Tears were starting to form in her blue eyes, causing him to panic. She was going to cry, he didn't know what to do when girls cried. He needed to do something before she could sob, but what could he do? With his mind blank of any idea but a single one that sounded too plain yet he still considered, he threw himself onto her and hugged her as tightly as he could without hurting her. She shrieked and struggled, but eventually relaxed in his arms, burying her face on his shoulder. Len rubbed her back reassuringly, feeling the smooth lilac skin of hers.

She needed comfort, and he would comfort her. And there was no better form of comfort than a good warm hug.

"It's okay, it's okay..." whispering gentle words seemed to calm her down, so he continued while she sobbed quietly, her nails grazing lightly on his bare chest - it didn't hurt. "There, are you calmer now?" he felt her nod. Improvisation and a plain idea sometimes work indeed.

"You are kind even to scum such as me. Why?" she murmured, sniffing. He tightened his grip around her back and covered her with his wings. Her words were filled with so much self-hate that it hurt him, left him heartbroken. Len wanted to help her but he was just a young angel. He was merely a mischievous little boy wearing white shorts, with his blonde hair tied in a ponytail by a white ribbon. He had no powers in his fingertips but the ability to fly back home. He was useless.

...Exactly like her.

"Don't call yourself as scum." Len gently pushed her away to see her depressed face staring back at him. His narrowed emerald green eyes locked on those light blue eyes of hers. "You are not scum. You are only different from them, but it doesn't mean you're inferior."

"B-but I have no wings..." she stammered.

"No. Stop." He ordered softly, leaving her no options but comply to his terms. "I won't let go of you until you stop calling yourself scum. You're pretty and don't deserve to suffer this way. So, please smile." He touched his forehead against hers.

"Hm." She hummed, pushing him away gently as she absorbed his words, considering them. Her light blue eyes now were noticeably brighter than earlier. "You're really kind to a demon like me, angel." She caressed his cheek softly and carefully to not injure him with her nails. He beamed.

"My name is Len Kagamine. May I know yours?"

The demon girl leaned closer to him and placed a light kiss on his forehead, making him blush. "I'm Miku Hatsune."

"You have a pretty name." He never felt so happy before as he touched the spot where she kissed, burning along with a small flame of love in his heart which, for now, seemed to be only friendship to his eyes.

They didn't know their meeting was forbidden because they were too young and innocent to notice. This moonlit night began everything.

* * *

 **A/N: Go check cleopatrawolf's "Conflicting Romance" in DeviantArt. I was inspired to write something for it. I only imagined this scenario where they met each other as children. :3**

 **Review if you like childhood love.**


	3. The Spider Web

**A/N: This was fast.**

 **So, Giga-P's "Tululila Talila Tulula" somehow is in my phone and wow, it's amazing. I can't stop listening to it. ...But wait, this has nothing to do with it! WTF?**

 **My epic failure in trying to write angst of some sort. Ugh...**

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III. The Spider Web

 _"He was waiting expectantly for the butterfly. His web was set for her. He wanted her. And yet, all he got was moths."_

* * *

She couldn't understand why God could be so cruel. Why did He made this boy so unbearably beautiful akin to a heavenly angel when he was such an awful person? He was a sadistic womanizer who constantly played with the emotions of girls for his amusement. He couldn't care less whether one of them got heartbroken, for him it was all a game, and who fell in love first was the loser.

He didn't even need to utter a single word with his unnaturally smooth voice. His very being was a magnet for females - he snapped his fingers and girls came in flocks towards him. Everyone was attracted to him. Even some boys were. Hell, even she was attracted by his looks! She just couldn't deny, he was so damn handsome that it was almost a sin to be with him.

But she knew better. She wouldn't be tricked by sweet-nothings and seductive gazes. She knew very well what would happen if she fell for him. As much as this boy was attractive and often invaded her dreams beckoning her to be his, she wouldn't fall in his web. If anything, he was more like a scheming demon hunting for innocent, willing prey, always hungry and never satisfied.

And to think he was once her dear childhood friend, that same cheerful boy who went crazy whenever he had bananas for snack.

"Another one?" she asked with bored eyes, bored voice, her whole face screamed boredom. It wasn't some surprise that he has another girl for his one night stands. He shrugged casually, not caring to answer her question because she already knew it. "You're cruel. You know this, don't you?"

He chuckled. "I'm heartless, after all. You have said it yourself, my sweet Miku." He attempted to touch her chin, but swiftly she slapped his hand away before he could reach her. His smirk widened. "Still denying me? Oh well, you'll fall for me eventually. Everybody does sooner or later." He then whispered with a husky voice, "I'll continue to wait until you come to my arms."

Then he left.

The worse thing was while she did her best to not be infatuated by him, she was almost sure that she already was a long time ago. It was impossible for a mere mortal like her to not feel tempted by sin, and he was sin in itself, specifically lust. He was almost a reincarnation of that lustful duke from a novel she once read.

Yet she couldn't show him these emotions. Because he was no longer the joyous boy she knew in the past, no matter if they looked exactly the same and had the same names. He wasn't him. That seven years old boy of her childhood who promised to marry her in the future was dead and replaced by an uncaring lady-killer.

She couldn't trust in Len Kagamine any longer.

* * *

Sometimes he hated being himself.

Humans couldn't help but lie, right? They rarely spoke the truth, mostly hiding secrets and uttering lies to either protect themselves or to trick others - in his case, it was both. He just didn't lie to others, he lied to himself as well. He continually lied until the strings he tied around himself were so tight that they hurt. His carefully built web was always full of new prey.

But the one who he specifically built this web for didn't fall yet. Yet he wouldn't give up. He wouldn't, even if it took his whole life, even if he died without ever having his reward.

Miku called him heartless and he agreed with her. He was indeed heartless... because she stole his heart from him since they were children. She ripped his heart off his chest and greedily kept it for herself, without giving him anything in exchange. They say that without a heart, a person can't feel emotions. He agreed with it partially.

He felt nothing for the girls who were swooned by him. He felt nothing for his one night stands. He felt nothing even during his nightly activities. Nothing at all but a constant hunger. He was staving. He could eat all the females in the world and still be hungry for more. He would still yearn for more, to soothe the pain of not having who he truly wanted. Because he desired only one person.

Miku Hatsune.

Only God knew how hard he tried to kill his feelings for her. He could lie for himself countless times, but still those damn feelings still persist inside of him - not in his heart, in his soul. He was like a spider staving for a single butterfly caring for her life and landing on another flower. However, he could surround the whole flower she was on with a web, and she would still find a way to escape from him as he caught insignificant moths.

He was left with tasteless meals while his desired dessert was flying carefree across the sky, far away from his grasp.

Could he be more pathetic?

Did Miku remember the promise he made in the past, when he was seven and she was six? He wasn't kidding when he made that little ring from a tulip he found and put on her finger. He was not lying when he said he wanted her in marriage. By that time, he was already heartless - she had already stolen his heart.

And it was worse because he himself willingly let her take it from him, hoping she would give hers to him. All he was left with was a gaping hole in his chest that ached with every thought of Miku. He went out with others to soothe this pain with false pleasure. He ate the moths to keep his stomach a little satisfied while he waited for the butterfly.

He was always watching her from afar. He was always desiring her from afar. He was always forcing himself to stay calm as he continued to wait and wait. Endlessly. And his stomach was empty once more.

When he came back home, he took a long shower to clean himself from that pungent smell of exchanged fluids and feminine perfume. He felt dirty. Who knows how much dirty he was? He was covered in sins, he was a repulsive being. He could only ask for forgiveness and slam his fists furiously against the white walls of the bathroom. He could only scream out of frustration as he cried. He could only wait.

The spider could wait for his beloved butterfly. Until then, he would eat the foolish moths caught by his web.

* * *

 **A/N: Aaaargggh, the Spice vibes! *slamming head against the wall***

 **I promised myself that I would never write something Spice-like and I just broke this promise! Aaaaahhhhh, I must die because this sucks so much because I can't write seductive characters and metaphors for shit and this is horrible! *stabs myself with a pencil***

 **Review please... *puppy eyes***


	4. Discarded 0102

**A/N: Genderswap AU prompted by ObeliskX.**

 **I seriously got nothing against MikuoLenka, I actually liked it. (Ehehe, don't look at me with those eyes, guys. It's practically the same thing. Their genders are only swapped, what's the big deal? *runs away from the meteors coming right after me*)**

 **This has some angst and serious anger issues. Be careful down there. (No, just kidding. It's nothing serious.)**

* * *

IV. Discarded 01/02

 _"Prototypes are made for testing. Then, they're scrapped. But... if you allow me, I won't abandon you. Because I understand your pain."_

* * *

Hatsune Miku was the first Vocaloid of the CV Series. Kagamine Rin and Len were the second of the series - everybody knew this. Miku achieved great success upon release and in an astonishing speed, became a famous diva. Rin and Len didn't achieve the same success, however both were very well known, with lots of hits under their names, both solos and duets.

Yes, _everybody_ knew this.

Hatsune Mikuo was tired from constantly hearing about the latest hit, the latest world tour, whatever more of the successful android. He kicked the covers off him, frowning deeply as he sought around the internet for any songs sung by him. Some relatively famous covers of Miku's original hits, a few duets and trios, very few original songs sung completely by him. The most of it, however, were audios of songs with their pitch lowered to make Miku sound like him.

Mikuo growled. The fandom of Vocaloid thought of him as a genderswap of Miku when, in reality, he was indeed related to her but not as a brother or anything. He was a prototype version of Miku, built way before she was even "born". _He_ was supposed to be the first Vocaloid, however due to the failure of KAITO, he was scrapped and his model was modified to become a girl instead. His voice recordings were stolen and pitched up to sound more feminine and cute, then Hatsune Miku was announced.

The fandom called him a genderswap, a low pitched version of Miku when it was the opposite - Miku was _his_ genderswap and a high pitched version of _him_. Stupid masters, stupid creators. Even after KAITO and other male Vocaloids were successful, they completely forgot him and left him here, in this dirty, abandoned factory - the place where he was built. _Him and Miku._

He ran his fingers frantically through his teal hair. God, he _hated_ that damn obnoxious robot. And to think he initially was happy that she was being made. The masters told him that his package would be a duo, not a solo. Mikuo didn't mind at all, he actually waited expectantly for his "little sister" to come to life. How he imagined them together singing many duets and making a stunning performance in stages of many countries.

In the end, he was tricked. Mikuo only escaped deactivation because he heard the masters talking about Miku and him one night through the door - they coldly called him a failed model and would solely announce Miku in the CV series while he wouldn't ever sing a single song. He seethed in rage and ran away, to somewhere far away. He wasn't human, but he was created with a Heart - a program that allowed robots to feel emotions - and his whole system burned with an unbearable pain and hatred.

Months later he came back. The factory - his home - was empty and dusty. After the Kagamines were created, the masters gained enough money to buy a brand new factory in a better place. It was so like them. Humans, always after money. Even him, who was a machine, felt more empathy than those greedy creatures. He had fought hard to not destroy anything in the abandoned factory, for this was his home, where he was "born" - he _couldn't_ destroy it.

It was ironic how the fandom often portrayed him as a caring younger brother who highly treasured Miku when he loathed her with a scorching passion. He had told all producers who managed to discover his existence to leave him alone (not with these words but in a more crude way) whenever they proposed to him to sing a duet with Miku - not in a trillion years, not now, not ever.

If he ever see that damn android in front of him, Mikuo swore he would rip every wire, clog and spring from her body until she convulsed on the floor, screaming repeatedly, "A critical error has occurred! A critical error has occurred!" and he would laugh, laugh and laugh until he himself suffered an error in his cybernetic brain.

How would it feel to finally get rid of the reason of his misery? He wanted to know! He so wanted to hear Miku begging for her life as he smirked and tore more vital gears out of her, coating his cold hands in black oil. He hated her, he wanted to destroy her. He wanted to tear her vocal cords and voice box out of her throat. Mikuo wanted Miku to feel the same way he did - miserable and without a purpose. That demented smile on his face was stuck since he began thinking about destroying his "sister".

That was noticed by the blonde female robot wandering in the dark room. "Mikuo, are you okay? Are you malfunctioning again?" Mikuo turned his head around and his smile dropped. One of the only reasons why he didn't destroy Miku yet was staring back at him with a worried face. "You were fantasizing about killing Miku again, weren't you?" she glared at him, but he simply shrugged.

Kagamine Lenka, the prototype version of Kagamine Len. Before the Kagamines were finally announced to be mirror images and a duo consisting of a girl and a boy, it was initially considered to be a solo, releasing Rin only. But (much to Mikuo's fury) it was changed and announced to be a duo of singers, so experiments were made to build the singing partner of Rin.

At first, it would be a pair of sisters, so Lenka was created. However, this seemed to not please the masters so much, so Lenka's model was used to build a new one with a masculine appearance - a boy who looked extremely like Rin, but even more with Lenka. The masters approved the new CVs, then. Without creativity, the creators took Lenka's name, removed the "-ka" syllable and named the boy Len. Then, Kagamine Rin and Len were released.

Lenka was like him - an innocent robot tricked by humans with dreams and ambitions crushed under cruel feet before she could even think in achieving. Mikuo didn't understand why she was discarded. She was beautiful, both in appearance and voice. He could never understand humans, whether because he was an android or because he loathed them too much to care.

"I couldn't help it. Sometimes I... get these urges." Mikuo muttered, putting the laptop on his lap onto the floor. He smiled sadly, suddenly his desire of destruction seemed foolish and childish. Maybe he was jealous of Miku. Jealous of how she was famous while he was nothing but a "genderswap". It was worse because he was not recognized as an official derivative, such as Yowane Haku and Akita Neru. He was only... a genderswap.

Lenka walked to him and wiped the small tear of oil trickling down his right eye - he didn't notice he was crying. She caressed his cheek softly, reassuringly. "Hey. I know we're not as famous as them, but we will surely become derivatives of them one day." She tried to comfort him. Mikuo sighed.

"I know, it's just... you know how frustrating it is. To have been built for a certain purpose and then... you're suddenly put aside in a corner by some... pretty, more appealing model!" He hissed, those feelings of rage causing his body to shake. Did Miku know how much she made him suffer? Did that... airhead of a teal-haired android know how he hurt for being left behind? Did she feel sad for him? Did she want to apologize?

An apologize... if Miku apologized him for making him suffer so much, maybe he could forget his hatred. He could. He could forget everything and accept her as his sister. He could forget and forgive. He could forgive her and he would ask for forgiveness for wanting to kill her in such cruel ways. _He could._ He just...

 _He just wanted to be loved._

"I know, I know how it feels, but there's nothing we can do." Lenka kissed his cheek. "We are only prototypes. Discarded, failed versions. That's what we are." She murmured, holding back her own tears. Then, she smiled. "But this doesn't make us inferior. We only have to... try harder and... make success by yourselves."

Mikuo nodded and kissed Lenka on the lips. Humans considered such act as affectionate, and for once, he agreed with them. He felt good when he kissed her. "So, wanna practice Karakuri Burst? I found the instrumental and the lyrics recently." He suggested.

Lenka shrugged. "Why not? I need to practice my Power Append - it's a bit rusty."

Mikuo could only roll his eyes. "As if you have any Appends. We were created before the Appends were made, remember?" he crossed his arms.

Lenka smiled slyly. " _Who_ said I don't?"

"Wait, you do? Since when?!" he widened his eyes.

"Since when I found a configuration to fit my voice in the internet and downloaded into my files." She winked. Mikuo pouted like a spoiled child, annoyed at how Lenka managed to get Len's Appends adapted for her while Miku was more famous and had a lot more Appends than blonde Vocaloid and he had nothing adapted for his voice. That wasn't fair at all! Wasn't he the most famous genderswap around?

"Hey, not fair! I don't have any Appends in my system! I want some Appends too!"

In these moments, they completely forgot the pain of being discarded. Mikuo secretly hoped that he and Lenka would one day become officially recognized by their old masters. They just needed to wait. Besides, he waited a lot to become what he was. Why couldn't he wait a little more? After all, they were robots. With some repair here and there often, download new softwares into their systems and maintain themselves in good conditions, they could live forever.

They could wait until they were recognized by the masters. For now, they had to practice their singing... and Mikuo needed to search for Miku's Appends softwares with adaptations for his voice. Urgently.

* * *

 **A/N: Oh wow, I wrote this so fast. Ugh. Just to clarify any confusion you guys may have, "master" is addressed to the ones who manage the Vocaloids, either the ones who firstly had the idea to create them (ie. Crypton, Internet co.) or the producers (in this case, they usually call the former as their "first masters"). "Creator" is addressed to who made them directly, like built their bodies and made their voices.**

 **This is kinda my Vocaloid AU as well (where the guys are singing androids). I have this headcanon where the genderswaps were whether discarded versions of original Vocaloids or just a modified one (like Meito and Kaiko, or a real derivative, such as Yowane Haku).**

 **I hope you enjoy this, ObeliskX. (Please don't murder me if this isn't what you wanted! :''( *hides in a hole*)**

 **Hey, did you read this? And you _won't_ review? Oh my, how rude of you. Please, be a nice reader and support this author who works hard to provide good material for your imaginative mind. I really don't mind from which country you come, what language you talk, if your grammar is bad or if you can only say a simple "I like this", I feel happy with every little one and it's the way I have to know whether my writing skills are improving or it was satisfying for my readers. So, review~? ^^**


	5. Aishiteru

**A/N: While listening to Peperon-P's "Saw and Pendulum", I got this idea for a double Yandere!LenKu. In other words, Yandere!Len and Yandere!Miku. (Oh my, Phantom will have a heart attack if I upload this. Wait a sec, I already did! *troll face*)**

 **Dedicated to my friend Phantom Stoffpuppe, who loves an obsessive love and angst thingies as much as I. I LOVE YOU, PHANTOM! *smooch***

* * *

V. Aishiteru

 _"I love you. I'll love only you. I'll love you... until you suffocate with my undying affection."_

* * *

He loved her.

Since the first time he locked sights with her, he knew she was perfect for him. His heart yearned for her, longed for her and her touch, her kisses, her love, her everything. He desired her to be solely his. He would make her his, someday. His fingers twitched, wanting to run through those long, silky teal locks of hair and caress that smooth skin. He desired those green eyes looking at him and him only.

He vowed to himself.

'I'll protect you.'

* * *

She loved him.

When he gave that beautiful smile for her, she felt her heart skip a beat, her cheeks blush, her very being crave him. He possessed an angelic beauty, something inhumane. Godly, even. His golden fringe framed his face, giving him a bright halo when sunlight touched his hair. His blue eyes like the clear sky of summer shone in innocence and cheerfulness. His fingers were slender, almost lady-like, resembling those of a pianist, and she wondered if he liked music - did he like it or not? She desired to know everything about him.

She promised to herself.

'I'll protect you.'

* * *

He hated, he absolutely loathed when those worthless boys talked to his precious lover. Did they think they have any right to talk to the girl he loved?! They shouldn't try and steal what belonged to him. That angel was his. Everything, from her teal hair to her pale feet, was his. He would be the only one to caress her porcelain skin, whether to gently touch or bruise it with his nails. She was his. He would show them, he would show them all.

 _They would pay._

* * *

She felt jealous whenever she saw him with some obnoxious girl. Though he treated them coldly, she couldn't help it but feel unworthy of his attention. Why couldn't she be the one talking to him? She wanted to have that courage as well. Even if he spared her no gentle word, it wouldn't matter. Regardless of how he would treat her like, she loved him too much to care. He could do whatever he desired to do with her. They shouldn't be even near him, they were committing a sin by speaking to him.

 _They would pay._

* * *

His first victim was messy, disgusting. Blood was splattered across the floor and walls, like the work of a kindergarten kid during their art class. The mutilated corpse didn't spark him any sort of regret or grief. He reminded himself that his job wasn't done. There was still lots and lots of bastards to pay the consequences for their failed attempts to possess what was his.

He remembered his vow as he clutched the knife stained in red in his right hand.

'I'll protect you.'

* * *

It wasn't easy to lure those repulsive whores to her house to finally get rid of them. Her precious lover wouldn't ever be annoyed by their horrible, shrill voices any longer. The awful reeking of blood was cleaned and now she could concentrate in her dinner. Oh yes, that flat-chested blonde girl indeed became a delicious meal after being roasted in the oven and seasoned well. She tasted like chicken, really.

She remembered her promise as she swallowed another piece of her victim.

'I'll protect you.'

* * *

When they became suspicious of the murders, he stopped. The number of students in his classroom drastically decreased. He realized that not only boys disappeared ( _killed_ by _his_ hands) but girls as well. He didn't care. At least he wouldn't be disturbed by their constant love confessions to him when he was interested in only one girl, who was okay and breathing. Yet he was worried. What if the killer who got rid of the girls went after his lover? No, he couldn't allow this!

'I must protect you, dear. Forever.'

* * *

There weren't many boys like before and this worried her. No, she panicked when she noticed how empty her classroom was. She didn't mind the missing girls (those were rotting in _her_ stomach), but most boys vanished from sight. The teacher said they were murdered by someone. He was still alive, what was good, however what if this... murderer went after him too? No, it couldn't happen! Not after what she did! He couldn't die. He wouldn't _ever_ die! Not under her watch!

'I must protect you. I must, I must!'

* * *

To speak the first word was hard, yet he managed to say hi to her. She smiled brightly at him, and he thought he could die happy after this. She was so beautiful, her voice was a wonderful melody that his ears ever had the honor to hear. His heart was hammering in his chest, he feared it would burst out sooner or later. She caressed his hand for a minute before leaving him alone in the classroom. He wanted more, so much more than a simple brush of her fingers on his hand.

As soon as the door closed, his breathing became ragged, excited, and he was crazily kissing his own hand, where she has touched him. He wasn't able to see the girl leaning on the door, doing the same act to her own hand.

* * *

He had invited her for a walk on the park. She almost squealed and jumped in his arms, kissing his cheeks over and over again as she accepted the invitation. Almost. Instead, she calmly nodded and smiled. He was being kind to her, it has to mean something! She never heard such gentle words coming out of his mouth when those bit- girls talked to him. He must be in love with her! Oh, what a exhilarating sensation it was to hold his hand. She thought she could die happy if he continued to hold it like this.

It was a matter of time until he confessed his love to her and they would be an official couple. Ah, she could not wait for that wonderful day.

* * *

One more perished by his hands, and he felt proud of his work. It was pretty, in a twisted way, like a blood-stained statue. Impaled by a large stake, another victim of his was done for, chest covered in bleeding cuts. His art was varied, he tried many styles to see which was the best. Although this statue pleased him, it wasn't nice enough to show to his lover.

Oh well, his job was done. 'Time to visit my lover.'

* * *

Within her stomach, another obstacle to her lover's affection was being digested. The hair she removed from the head was used to make a doll's hair - she enjoyed portraying her victims as ugly, patchwork dolls with missing limbs or a missing button eye. Stitched smiles that once were used to court the one she loved, chests where a heart should be stabbed by a knife.

Her little, morbid collection was lovely. 'Ooh, I wonder if he wants to hang out with me today~'

* * *

He stared with wide eyes. Those dolls on the shelves... he knew it, they were identical to the missing girls, the murdered girls. She was trembling behind him, eyes filled with shock and horror, mouth half opened in a silent scream. So, this was the reason why she didn't let him in her room - she kept disturbing dolls of the dead girls.

 _The girls she killed._

"It was you, right? Who murdered the girls?" he asked a little hesitantly.

She nodded, to his surprise. "It was me... I'm... it's just... I hate them because they were always pestering you... and... I felt jealous. I wanted you to look at me too, so I killed them and I... ate them." She choked and sobbed, not daring to gaze directly at him - he didn't know what to say. Then, she yelled desperately, "I'm so sorry, please don't hate me! I love you! I won't do this ever again! Don't hate me, I beg you! I love you!"

He froze. She... loved him? She killed for his sake? If so, then... it meant... it meant...

...she was like him.

He _couldn't_ hate her.

"I... I love you too. I forgive you." He gently smiled. He has vowed to protect her forever, after all. It didn't matter if she was a cannibal. _He_ _ **loved**_ _her._

* * *

Her throat was frozen, and she couldn't utter a word. He was holding a knife, a brutally slaughtered corpse of a boy on his feet. His clothes were soaked in blood. He was shaking, almost crying. Because she has found out what he had done. He killed those boys.

 _But she wasn't afraid._

"You are... like me..." she mused, still shocked but... relieved. They were exactly the same, after all. She wasn't the only one who murdered for the sake of love.

He did as well.

He gulped and avoided looking at her. "I... I was going to tell you, I swear. But I... there was this guy and... I saw the want in his eyes. I felt furious and... I... I'm... I'm sorry..." he looked down, ashamed for being caught during his crime. She couldn't punish him for his sins, she would be hypocritical if she did such thing. No, she wouldn't judge him.

She could _never_ hate him.

"It's okay. Let's just go home, then. You got some... stuff in your shirt." She grabbed his hand and began dragging him away from the crime scene. It didn't matter if he was a psychopath. _She_ _ **loved**_ _him._

* * *

They loved each other so deeply that nobody ever saw them separated. To bystanders' eyes, they were only a happy couple, having fun and living a beautiful, clichéd romance. They were indeed in love, a love at first sight that became stronger along the years. They would love only each other.

Len Kagamine _only_ loved Miku Hatsune.

Miku Hatsune _only_ loved Len Kagamine.

And anyone who _dared_ to try and separate them... **_would disappear._**

But it was up to them whether they wished to become a work of art by Len's knife or a delicious meal to be eaten by Miku.

* * *

 **A/N: Strangely I was also reading Shirai Hisaishi's "FANBOY" while writing this. Huh, what's the connection between this and that? Absolutely none. But I LOVE THAT STORY, OMG. SOMEBODY SLAP HER BECAUSE SHE THINKS THAT WAS SHIT WHEN IT'S GOLDEN AND SO FREAKING FUNNY, AAAAAAAAAHHH! *tosses notebook against the wall***

 **But this was morbid, omg. What's going on with me...? o.o**

 **Review and I'll write more in the speed of light! Don't forget to request a prompt if you got an idea. It's not necessary but I appreciate it. :) (*grows wings and chases after Phantom Stoffpuppe* PHANTOM, I LOVE YOU! PLEASE LOVE ME BACK! ^w^)**


	6. The Butterfly's Nectar

**A/N: Aaaaaaaand, look who's back spamming the Vocaloid fandom once more! ^^**

 **Remember third chapter, "The Spider Web"? Yeah, the Spice vibes came back. So, enjoy this failure of a continuation! *jumps into a nuclear reactor***

* * *

VI. The Butterfly's Nectar

 _"She wouldn't let herself to be tricked by the spider's sweet lies. She loved a different him, after all."_

* * *

He must be a masochistic because this situation he was in was torturing. She was right there, so close and yet so far. Her glossy teal hair beckoning him to run his fingers through those silky locks and inhale her alluring scent of strawberries. Her gleaming green eyes like emeralds illuminated by sunlight tempting him to lose his control and surrender himself to animal lust.

His fingers longed to touch that creamy, pure skin, never touched by other fingers. Her smell was almost an aphrodisiac for him. Her very presence turned him on. When her hand innocently touched his thigh to check his homework as she explained something for him, that electrifying sensation he felt during his nightly activities ran directly to his groin and he felt... aroused, even if only for a second. He craved to pleasure her, like he has done to others.

And yet he couldn't. He _couldn't_ because he vowed to wait until she willingly came to him because she was his friend since long time. Everyone fell on their knees, begging him to love them, yet he didn't care. He had someone in mind since he was seven. He promised to marry her when they grew up - she was special, she was his precious childhood friend. They certainly were still too young for that, but the way their relationship was currently... they would eventually drift apart as soon as they graduated. And he wouldn't allow this.

He wanted his heart back. If Miku didn't want it, then why did she take it from him in the first place? And she called him cruel - what a hypocrite. Perhaps if she didn't steal his heart, he wouldn't be this despicable being he was nowadays. He wanted his heart back. He wanted to rewind time and never allow her to take his heart from him.

"I've heard about your new favorite. Luka, right?" she asked without looking up from her notebook, her voice, high-pitched and soothing, caused him to moan mentally. If only he could make her say his name, moan his name... how _blissful_ would it feel? He wanted to know. He wanted to know many things about her, and the only one to know them. He was selfish. "She's quite pretty. Generous cleavage, huh?"

He shrugged. "She's nice. A little too talkative for my tastes, though." Honestly he only went out with her because she had long hair and was pretty. He liked girls with long hair because it reminded him of Miku, so it was easier to pretend that he was doing those sinful acts to her and not some random girl he charmed to forget the pain in his chest, that gaping hole throbbing, aching, where a heart was supposed to be.

She nodded slowly, absorbing the information. Twirling a lock of hair around her index finger, a sly smile appeared on her fair face. "What's your type anyways, Len Kagamine?" he closed his eyes, leaning back on the chair and putting both hands behind his head. The answer to her question wasn't hard.

His type? _She_ was his type.

Whether for a long lasting relationship or just an one night stand, she has every little thing that turned him on, almost as though she was sculpted by God only for him. Miku didn't solely have a beautiful body, she also had a characteristic aura around her that mixed innocence with sexuality - she could tempt yet she didn't know what existed beyond those borders which she never dared to trespass, like he did several times.

He must admit he was stunned at how well Miku resisted his charm. Her walls of steel, however, had a hole and he could peek through it, seeing how she wanted him but denied it - why, though? Because she didn't want to be heartbroken? Because he wasn't that sweet boy he once was in the past? Whatever was her reason, it didn't matter. In her assumptions, he felt nothing for her and was only after her because she was a challenge.

His heart was on her lap, cradled on her arms, soothed by sweet lullabies sung by her beautiful voice. He felt those pleasuring shockwaves running down his spine, he saw himself lusting insanely for her, craving for that voice singing for him, singing her own intimate, wordless song. He slammed those walls, infuriated at how wrong she was about him. He lied to everyone, even to himself, but never to her - his feelings were pure, yet she doubted of him.

The spider wanted to tear his dear butterfly's wings apart, one by one, slowly, carefully and as painlessly as possible, so she wouldn't fly away from him anymore. It would be a shame to get rid of such pretty, glimmering teal wings, but he adored her even without them. She would stay with him, forever and ever. He wanted her more than a simple meal. He wanted her in a forbidden way - he wanted her to be his. He loved her. He could promise to give his addicting venom only to her until he died if she stayed and loved him.

"Why the sudden interest? Are you, by any chance, thinking in make a move on me?" he smirked, licking his lips, lacing them with poison. He was ready to bind another to him. If he did the correct moves and said the right words, Miku would give him the opportunity he needed to kiss her and drug her with his spice as well. He would break her walls and find her cold heart. Then, he would put it where it rightfully belongs - inside his chest, where it should be since the beginning.

Miku shook her head. "Those girls ruined you, really." Her words left him to ponder. Did changing truly ruin him? If he never found out about his spice, would their situation be better than it was now? Would Miku be already his a long time ago if he had kept this secret for himself? He would never know the answer, it was mere possibilities.

He admitted one thing: he had done what he did out of curiosity. After the night with Cul, he wondered what has she meant with his... "spice"? He didn't know, so he went out to test - it was only tests. He gathered the results and wondered if it would work with Miku, then he would shake his head and go back into testing. Maybe he used too many girls as specimen, yet he couldn't say he didn't like to be desired by others - it made him feel good, powerful, and he enjoyed being dominant over someone.

The spider liked when the moths came to him so willingly. He attracted them as though he was a flame - they didn't care when he tore them apart and ate them until only an empty shell was left. But he was tired from cleaning his web and waiting for the butterfly. She was too close. If he was smart enough, he could lure her to his web as well and finally have his dessert.

* * *

She stared at him like he was some fascinating new species she just discovered. They were in the library, empty of any life but them. Len was reading a book silently, black-rimmed reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. She wanted to slap herself. How was it possible for a boy look good in anything? Would he still look so amazingly hot if he wore girl clothes? She thought he would.

Why was she staring at him? Maybe she was searching for that innocent boy of her childhood - the Len Kagamine she fell in love with. Somewhere beneath all that black corruption resisted his white purity. Somewhere, but where exactly? She must find it. She wanted her friend back. Somewhere beneath the shell of the womanizer lived her beloved friend, she knew it. She needed to break the shell and let her friend to regain control of his body.

He glanced at her with half-lidded eyes which could make any fangirl squeal - she desired to punch him and demand her friend back. Where was the Len she loved? Where?! "Miku, I know I'm sexy and everything, but I would appreciate if you stopped staring." His smirk caused her to narrow her eyes. That damn narcissistic player. She knew how much he liked when others stared at him.

"Whatever." She snorted. It wasn't anything new if she caught his glimpses and stares at her, nearly violating her with those piercing blue orbs... she could imagine the times they tore her clothing off and satisfied themselves with an perceived view of her nude body.

Len slowly took his glasses off, his every little move quietly beckoning her to come to him. She wondered why she still hung out with him. Did she like to torture herself? A boy with a godly beauty was _right beside_ her, making little to no struggle to captivate and tempt her. It was hard to breathe near him. 'Don't fall for him. He isn't that boy anymore.'

The butterfly knew the spider's tactics of seduction. He was a natural charmer, but she wouldn't fall for his tricks like the moths. She wouldn't be his next meal. As much as she desired him, _as much as she loved him_ , she knew how her fate would be if she expressed her real feelings. A heartless spider would _never_ reciprocate her feelings.

"I know you are infatuated by me." He closed his book, ignoring her surprised gasp. It shouldn't surprise her - Len could practically smell the scent of willing females captivated by him. Actually she was stunned at how she managed to control her impulses and keep herself calm when she was near him. The forbidden fruit was in her hands, silently daring her to take a good, juicy bite. "I only don't understand why didn't you come to me yet." He mused, mostly to himself.

She closed her notebook with a slam, startling him. It was truth, she acknowledged it - she was infatuated by him, however she couldn't allow herself to be tricked by whatever sweet-nothings he would say. He felt nothing for her, he felt nothing. He was merely a heartless womanizer. Nothing more, nothing less. She wanted to be truly loved. She didn't desire to have her emotions played around by some boy, no matter how handsome he was.

A butterfly wasn't like a moth.

"Why do you care? Don't you have some girl to have sex with? Leave me alone." Standing up, she turned around to leave the library as fast as she could without having to give Len any explanations, but he suddenly grabbed her wrist and lunged towards her before she could utter a word to question him.

Spicy cinnamon, that was how Len's lips tasted like. She has kissed many times before (something she would never tell Len), but his... she couldn't explain but as he continued to kiss her, she saw herself wanting more of his taste. She desired to kiss him back in the same intensity. Her eyes fluttered. He flickered his tongue out and softly licked her lips, asking for entrance. She wanted to grant him permission, she wanted to let him roam his skillful tongue through her mouth, she wanted more of that spice.

'No. I can't. He isn't _him_.' She pushed him away from her and ran away without glancing back because she knew if she did, she would regret and go back to his arms. She couldn't do this. She was in love with a different Len, the joyous boy who promised to marry her when they were older enough, the boy who gave her a ring made from a white tulip he found. She loved _this_ Len, not the cold womanizer Len. She was infatuated yes, but it was nothing more than this - a simple infatuation caused by his undeniable beauty.

She must go home and take a cold shower. She must forget that this kiss ever happened. She must, or she would doom herself. And the worst part was that she still craved for that spice on his lips. The butterfly tasted the addicting venom of the spider and desired to be further intoxicated by it, but she couldn't cheat on the little innocent spider who captivated her young caterpillar heart. No, she must stay pure for his sake, for her own sake, for the sake of their hearts.

She _must_ keep resisting.

* * *

He didn't move a muscle while his eyes stared the painful scene of Miku running away from the library. Why did he kiss her? An overwhelming impulse has taken over his mind and body and before he knew, his lips were against Miku's. She stood stiff as he continued his sin before she roughly pushed him away and left, not letting him apologize.

But he tasted it. Oh, the sweet nectar of heavenly flowers in her lips, so alluring and delicious, numbing his senses and sending his nerves to overheat. In this exact moment, he saw himself in front of the gates of Heaven, waiting to be granted permission to enter. The shockwaves running down his spine made him feel like he has grown wings and was flying through the blue sky. He needed more, he needed more and more of her sweet nectar.

Miku denied him. She denied to give him more than he was able to taste. Instead of Eve, the serpent has bitten the forbidden fruit and he wanted to eat more. Instead of waiting for the butterfly be caught by his web, the spider has jumped onto her and injected his venom into her, the remaining nectar stuck on her lips was eaten by him and god, he still craved for more. He wanted more than she was willing to offer him.

"Why...?" he whimpered. His spice has worked with every girl he has kissed before. They had kissed him back, desiring more. But Miku... "Why did it work with all but her? Why?" she hadn't moved at all and he brushed it off - she was shocked by his sudden act. He thought she would surrender to him soon, but... she pushed him away... she denied his touch. She denied his spice.

Was he fated to lust for an unattainable girl? Would he forever love her only from afar? Couldn't he fulfill his desire to mark her as his? ...And what about the promise? Didn't they promise to marry each other when they grew up? 'She... she forgot it... why? _Why can't she love me?_ ' he barely noticed the tears falling from his eyes. His chest hurt, it hurt so damn much. 'I want to forget. I need to forget.'

Wiping his tears, he turned around and left the library. He must forget this kiss ever happened. He needed to forget this pain. He must forget that his world was crashing down onto his shoulders - the little paradise he created for him and Miku has become his personal hell. He wanted to be alone and think.

"Len...? Len, are you okay?" Miki asked worried as he walked through the hallway absent-mindedly, ignoring her. Damnit, her name was so similar to Miku's. Her fiery red hair was as long as Miku's, if she tied them in pigtails, he could easily mistake Miki as a redhead Miku. His chest ached. "Do you... need something?"

'Fuck no.' He wanted to snap at Miki for interrupting his thoughts. The last thing he desired at this moment was this airhead bothering him. "I just... I want to be alone for a while, Miki." He said quietly, almost a murmur. He sounded so pathetic.

"Oh, okay. If you need me, you can call me, alright? See you." She walked away, glancing back occasionally in worry. He rarely ever denied the comfort of girls, mainly cute ones such as Miki - after all, she looked so similar to Miku...

'No, not today.' If he had sex today, he would lose it. Despite he imagined the girls as Miku during it, he always managed to maintain a certain touch with reality so he wouldn't end up moaning Miku's name - if he did it, he would ruin his reputation completely. But in this state... no. He couldn't. He was yearning for her touch, he couldn't have sex with a different girl. He needed to be alone tonight. Just him and his thoughts. His regrets.

'Why do you hate me, Miku?'

* * *

 **A/N: This is bigger than the first part. Is this good or bad? Oh God, so angst-y. My poor heart... I'm feeling Len's pain and gosh, it HURTS! I'm crying right now... Poor Lenny.**

 **Btw, I just found out that cinnamon is an aphrodisiac. NOW, EVERYTHING MAKES SENSE! And finally I know why everybody, including myself, makes Len have cinnamon-flavored lips... (Who has started this trend? What's the oldest story describing Len's lips as tasting like cinnamon? That would be interesting to know, hm...)**

 ***coughs* Anyways... review if you want to taste Len's spice as much as I do. (I hope mom never reads this or she'll murder me... oh wait, she doesn't know English at all! Aah, the benefits of being Brazilian...)**


	7. Too Distant

**A/N: Um, is somebody still reading this? Helloooo~? *voice echoes* *tumbleweed passes* *insert other clichés here* Wow, this place is so dead...**

 **Prompt by Awayuki. (I'm a great author? Seriously? Aww, thank you~ this makes me so happy~ :) I mean, I'm not even that great, seriously...)**

* * *

VII. Too Distant

 _"I'll continue to yearn for you, until the day we can finally be together. Even if it's wrong to feel this way..."_

* * *

Humans once worshipped the forces of nature as primal gods, everything around them was a sort of deity who provided them food, water, shelter and life. Many legends were made to describe these gods and goddesses surrounding them, most of time hidden from their eyes. Legends which were unfortunately forgotten overtime due to the creation of new faiths and extinction of old ones.

This was one of them...

* * *

There was once a young woman walking through the forest, her teal hair so long that touched the ground all adorned with beautiful wild flowers, her dress was light brown with several leaves and more flowers decorating it. The mysterious woman was nobody but the very personification of earth. Mother Nature as some called her, though her real name was Miku.

In the skies lived a pair of twins with identical blonde hair and sky blue eyes. Their pristine white clothing mirrored each other - the girl, Rin, always wore a bow on her head; the boy, Len, always had his hair tied in a ponytail. Within their vast domain, they played along in the clouds and the air, bathed by sunlight during the day and moonlight during the night.

* * *

They were happy with their lives. Until that fateful day...

Miku strolled through one of her many forests under her watch, checking if Water was doing his work - Kaito often forgot to make the rivers and waterfalls flow correctly, what forced her to remind him. As for now, everything was fine as it should be. She decided to drop by on her favorite clearing for a while. It wasn't her best work indeed, but it was her first clearing, therefore it was special for her.

The view of the clear sky was perfect, though. Sunlight penetrated the forest directly and in the right intensity, letting a variety of life, plants and animals, to thrive. Many little creatures living within the fallen trees, mushrooms and grass stepped aside to let her pass. She thanked each of them silently for their kindness. She raised her head, looking at the sky in awe.

She loved the world. It was her home indeed but she couldn't help imagining how did it feel to be flying. She was earthbound, trapped in her domain, yet she liked to daydream about floating along with the clouds and dancing to a silent melody. It was only dreams, though. When she looked up, however, she noticed something- no, someone walking on the clouds. She squinted her eyes to see better... and that person on the sky looked directly at her.

It was like time has stopped.

The person - the man - wore a white tailcoat, pants, boots... well, everything he wore was colored white as the clouds around him. And dear Cosmos was he handsome. His hair was as golden as the sun glowing with the rays of the morning sun. His eyes were of an light shade of blue impossibly beautiful and even more than the sky itself - they were widened in shock at the moment, like her own, and she saw herself unable to avert her eyes, hypnotized by those blue orbs, wondering if she could drown in their beauty.

Blinking out of his trance, the man continued his way through the clouds, taking glimpses at Miku and hurrying his steps, his cheek colored in an embarrassed red. When Miku snapped out of her thoughts, she placed a hand over her mouth and silently gasped, the image of that mysterious man flashing through her eyes. He was so handsome- no, he was absolutely gorgeous. She wondered who he was, that man who somehow could walk on the clouds and travel by foot through the sky.

Even after the sun has set, the moon was shining, and her beloved animals were sleeping around her, she couldn't stop thinking in him. He invaded her dreams as well, tormenting her without having uttered a single word.

* * *

As Rin slept beside him, he continued to stare at the moon, watching the lonely waltz of Haku as she spread her pale light throughout the world beneath them. It was late by judging her current gracious movements and the her position in the sky - his domain. Well, his and Rin's since they shared the wide, nearly endless territory which many deities performed their tasks too. IA was one of them, being the personification of the moon.

He sighed. Sleep was the last thing he desired to do right now. The rest of his day was spent by imagining who that woman in the ground was. Her hair was as green as the lush summer forests but possessed a hint of blue, creating a beautiful shade of teal that complimented perfectly with the gleaming emeralds which were her eyes and the colorful blooms littering her hair. He was mesmerized by that exotic beauty, so far away from his grasp and yet beckoning him to find a way and descend from the skies only to meet her.

He gulped, once again feeling his cheeks heating up. This warmth growing in his chest, cocooning him comfortably, was impossible to ignore. This kind of sensation was new for him, utterly different from the one he felt towards his sister. It wasn't the same thing, but certainly was similar. He was uneasy and slightly frustrated because he didn't know what it was. Although it filled him with doubts, it was good, he liked it...

Putting a hand on his heart, he brought the scene of that morning back to his mind, blocking any thought that wasn't that teal-haired maiden in the clearing gazing at him in awe, and enjoyed the warmth blooming in his chest once more as his heartbeats quickened. It was, without a doubt, different from how he felt towards Rin, but it was as good as it. Perhaps even better. He truly liked it and yearned for more. 'Is this what they call as love?' the question popped up in his mind, and he took a moment to ponder the possibility, however he still wasn't sure.

* * *

Because of the distance between them, they couldn't share words. Instead they communicated through little messages. Miku has the birds, one of the few animals which could travel between the sky and the earth freely. One by one, she wrote greetings in long leaves by using mud and crushed fruits as paint and let a bird carry them to the man in the skies - she came to know that his name was Len. Since Len has no available leaves or paint with him, he used the clouds to write his replies, displaying it in the sky for her.

With these messages, they slowly began knowing each other. Despite the clear distance and impossibility of ever meeting in person, they fell in love. They began wanting more than simple messages. They wanted to touch each other. Regardless of climbing the tallest tree of her forest or descending as far as he could from the sky, they still were unreachable.

After all, she was Earth and he was Sky.

They weren't supposed to ever yearn for each other. The Cosmos established this distance for a good reason, and they shouldn't desire to trespass it.

But... they were still in love.

* * *

"Miku, you can't be serious. You, loving the Sky? You know this love is impossible."

"Yes, Kaito. I do know this, but... but... I still can't get rid of my feelings."

"Miku... Miku, don't cry..."

"K-Kaito, it hurts. It hurts to be away from him! Why does it hurt? Why can't I forget him? Why can't I be with him?"

* * *

"Wait, let me see if I got it. You are in love with Earth and want a way to somehow go to the ground to meet her. That's it, right?"

"Yes."

"Are you crazy?! Earth and Sky aren't supposed to love each other! If it was Yukari or SeeU, it was fine because they're Wind and Stars respectively. But Earth? Len, you cannot leave our domain. You can't even reach the ground!"

"I know, Rin, I know. That's why it hurts so much..."

* * *

Eventually that pain became unbearable. They tried their hardest to ignore it, end their feelings, transform them into friendship. In the end, it was pointless as that border between them started to torture them emotionally. Refusing any help from their companions, they began to cry.

For several days and nights, the Earth and the Sky cried. When the Earth cried, the soil became infertile. When the Sky cried, a harsh rain poured down on the ground. The plants began slowly dying, the animals fleed from their homes. The ground was completely soaked, nothing could grow from it. The world was falling apart.

They didn't want to do this, but it ached to not be together. They came to regret their meeting, although it didn't make the pain stop. If anything, it only became stronger.

It continued for many moons. They wailed day and night, never stopping. The Stars couldn't be seen in the sky after a few weeks - SeeU was too saddened by Len's sobbing to feel like glowing. The Water was chaotic, nobody could sail through the rivers and the sea - Kaito was frustrated at how Miku was suffering and he couldn't do anything.

Enough was enough, Rin has thought. After months listening to Len's wailing, the Sky twin couldn't bear her brother crying any longer. Flying to the extremes of her territory, she was determined to talk with the Cosmos. If this continued, Len would end up killing Miku and this would further aggravate the pain in his broken heart.

She only had one wish to make...

"Please let Len and Miku meet, even if just once..."

* * *

The Cosmos were kind enough to not only let them meet, but to let them spend a whole day together every decade as long as they stopped mourning. If their love was strong enough like they said it was, they would be able to wait. And so, they did. Soon enough, the soil came back to normal and the rain stopped. It had been a joyous day when Len slowly fell from the clouds and stepped on the ground for the first time in his whole life.

Len noticed the sun was starting to rise in the horizon - their time was up. "It's morning." He mused, enjoying Miku's presence in his arms. Currently they were in the sky, sitting on the clouds. With each decade, they switched territories; one decade Len would descend to the ground, in the other Miku would fly to the skies. Either way, with the end of another day, they needed to part away.

For now.

"Aw, I wanted to stay a little longer." Miku whined, making him chuckle. She was such a kid sometimes.

"Me too, but we can't disobey the Cosmos' rules more than we already did." He smiled cheekily, thus causing her to punch his chest lightly. He was aware of how annoying he could be. "So... see you next decade?"

"Of course. At my place, okay?" Miku kissed his cheek. He liked her touch. He only wished that he could have it more often... At least now, they could be together even if just once each passing decade - it was better than yearn for the impossible and suffer with it. He thanked his sister every single day for her kindness. If it wasn't for her help... well, Len preferred to not think about it. "Love you."

Those were simple words which made him so happy. Until the next decade, he wouldn't hear them, but it was okay. It was solely a decade, ten years until their fated meeting. Only ten years which would certainly pass through his eyes in a blink. "Me too."

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for being rushed and the crappy ending, but I was tired and lazy... Sorry, sorry, sorry~ *offers a cute Len plushie* I hope you liked it, Awayuki! :)**

 **Reviews please! (Is there any more prompts, guys? You can give me some.)**


	8. A Sorcerer's Sorrow

**A/N: This sucks a lot, probably will be flamed, but HELLO I'M STILL ALIVE ;)**

 **Strong language ahead.**

* * *

VIII. A Sorcerer's Sorrow

 _"Because of my rage, I destroyed everything. Even the one I loved the most. It's my fault."_

* * *

He cried, lamented, mourned, screamed, though he knew nothing would bring her back. She was dead, his beloved was dead and gone forever. And it was his fault that she died. Because he let the foolish feelings of rage cloud his judgment, rampaging for futile reasons. Love wasn't supposed to hurt, but who loved someone wasn't supposed to kill who they loved.

She died protecting that man who he once loathed. Kaito Shion was his name. He was also dead, laying beside his beloved. He caused the death of two - his lover and his best friend. He shouldn't have thrown that lightning spell towards Kaito... After all, it was unfair to him fight a person without any magic training. He was obviously stronger, and his wrath only boosted his already unstable magic.

He didn't mean killing anyone. That lightning wasn't supposed to come out so powerful, but he lost himself in blind rage for a moment and before he knew, he hit the wrong target. He didn't mean anything of this to happen, he didn't want it. Why did it happen? Why was everything falling apart?

Why couldn't he be happy for once?!

* * *

 _"Len, I'm going to meet Kaito in the beach. He said it's something really important."_

 _"Okay, but what is this something so important that it can't wait till tomorrow? I mean, it's almost dusk."_

 _"No idea, he didn't tell me. He just said to come and he would explain there."_

 _"Hmm, alright. Be safe."_

 _"I will."_

* * *

He held her limp hand tightly, his tears trickling down on her rapidly cooling skin. She used to be so warm... He wailed and sobbed out his regrets, as if waiting for her to open her eyes and forgive him, as if waiting someone's reply.

She knew Kaito longer than him. It was a possibility that she would choose Kaito instead of him. Hadn't he promised her that he would respect her decision? They could've been friends. It would hurt yes, but it was better than this. It was a way better than this tragedy. This only left him empty. He lost everything.

It was pointless to continue mourning. She wouldn't come back to life. Even if he knew reanimation spells, she would be a simple zombie, not that kind maiden he fell in love with.

She was gone.

* * *

 _"I hope Miku doesn't mind that I came. I'm just worried, she's taking so long... But what if I'm interrupting something?"_

 _"...Kaito..."_

 _"Huh? What is this...?"_

 _"Kaito... K-Kaito, wait!"_

 _"...Miku..."_

 _"...!"_

* * *

She obviously loved Kaito, not him. If she reincarnated, nothing could ensure that they would meet again. They could live several lives without ever meeting. They looked so happy together. Those same memories which once filled his heart with jealousy now made him regretful. He ended a beautiful love story before it could start. He stopped two lovers linked by Fate from being happy because of his greed.

He lost it when he saw them kissing in that beach, the same one Miku treasured so much - the same beach which her blood was spilled. He swore he heard his heart breaking inside his chest, the shattered pieces all scattered around his feet, unable to be ever fixed. He didn't know what to do, he didn't know how to act. He thought that such scene wouldn't hurt that much, but... At that moment, his sight went red.

He didn't deserve her. He didn't deserve Miku's love.

But what could he do?

* * *

 _"What's the meaning of this?!"_

 _"L-Len...?!"_

 _"What the... What are you doing here, Len?"_

 _"What the hell is going on here? Is this the 'something important' you soooo wanted to talk about?!"_

 _"Len, I can e-explain..."_

 _"Yeah, we kissed. So what? You never had any chance to be with Miku. You thought for a moment that she actually liked you? She only pitied you!"_

 _"...Fucking liar! I always suspected of you. I knew you weren't a good person since the start but I ignored this feeling, thinking it was only paranoia. It seems that I was right the whole time. You only wanted Miku for yourself!"_

 _"So? You do as well."_

 _"But I'm playing fair! I'm letting her decide. I wouldn't straight out kiss her and force her to love me, like you obviously did!"_

 _"No! Wait, you two, just stop!"_

 _"You never have any chance, filthy sorcerer. I knew I should've kicked you out a long time ago. You're just a bother."_

 _"Fucking bastard!"_

 _"Len, please calm down! Kaito, stop calling him these things!"_

 _"You can't be compared to me!"_

 _"You think you're better just because I'm a sorcerer and you're a knight?!"_

 _"You can't protect her like I can. You couldn't even protect your dear sister from death. How do you expect to keep Miku safe?!"_

 _"..."_

 _"Kaito, be quiet right now!"_

 _"How dare you?! DON'T FUCKING SPEAK OF MY SISTER, YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!"_

 _"LEN, NO!"_

 _"Miku!"_

* * *

He remembered. The binding spell. He has learned it a couple of weeks ago. He could use it to bind Miku's soul to the one she loved; Kaito. A sad smile crossed his lips. He could relinquish his desire to earn her heart in favor to make Miku happy forever. With it, she would be fated to meet Kaito and fall in love with him over and over again. Since her memories of this life would be erased, she wouldn't remember him. Besides, there was no guarantees that they would even meet in their next reincarnations.

They could pretty much never see each other again for the rest of eternity.

Since his memories would be erased as well, it wouldn't hurt. The small part of him that would remain in his soul would long for her indeed, however this was a good punishment for his sins. After all, they weren't fated to be together. Miku and Kaito were. He dared to step in between this bond and cut the string, as though he had any control of their lives. He was nothing more than a greedy, jealous sorcerer.

He never deserved her heart.

To make such a bond such as this would cost him a great quantity of magic - this might kill him during the process. But he didn't care if his whole power would be drained for the sake of ensuring two lovers to see each other. He promised to make her happy regardless of her decision, right? Then, for her, he would bind them together for eternity with his own life.

Placing his hands over hers, he began to chant.

* * *

 _"Miku, do you love Kaito?"_

 _"Um... I don't know. I do like him as a friend, but I'm not sure... I can be mistaking friendship with something deeper. Kinda like how I feel towards you."_

 _"I understand. But whoever you choose to love, either me or Kaito, I will respect your decision. I want you to be happy."_

 _"Len..."_

 _"I'll make you happy. Even if we'll be only friends, it's fine. I only want you to be happy, regardless of who you love. I promise."_

 _"..."_

 _"..."_

 _"...Thank you."_

* * *

It was done. He was drained out of power. It would take some minutes to work, though.

He felt dizzy. He wanted to sleep. Collapsing on her left side, he let his heartbeats slow down as well as his breathing. He was so tired and sleepy. He continued to hold her hand, taking comfort of whichever remaining warmth in her as he smiled. They were bound now. He wouldn't be able to interfere ever again. He was sure to include in the chanting that no magic in this world would be capable of breaking this bond, not even his own. She would be bound forever to the one she truly loved.

He took this moment to admire her one last time before he surrendered to death.

The long, waist length hair colored teal... He remembered how she liked to tie it in pigtails and often let him braid it.

The porcelain, smooth skin... How he liked to touch it and feel its warmth. He knew how he longed to caress it with his slightly rougher fingers.

The frilly blue dress... It was her favorite. He remembered she loved this dress and wore it constantly. Unfortunately, it now had a crimson stain on the chest area that could never be washed.

Satisfied, he let himself close his eyes. The image of her smiling to him with those beautiful green eyes of hers came to his mind before his spirit left his body. The smile stayed on his face.

If he was alive for a few more minutes, he would've seen the spell finally work, the red string he created linking Miku's pinkie to who she has chosen.

* * *

 _"What if Kaito wants to confess to me? I don't know who I love... Is it friendship? Or love? What about Len? Do I love him? He's so sweet despite I met him months ago, but it's like I know him for a long, long time. Maybe even more than Kaito. Yet, does this mean I love him? Mother told me that when someone's really special to you, their face come to your mind instantly. So who do I love?"_

* * *

She has decided while she walked to the beach. She realized how she liked his smiles, his carefree laughs, his gentle personality...

His willingness to let her choose...

 _"I want you to be happy."_

He was the one who came to her mind.

She never had the chance to tell him, though, but in the next life, she would have it...

Maybe.

* * *

 _"I love him. I love Len."_


	9. Final Song

**A/N: super short thingy I wrote while sick.**

 **I'm still sick, btw.**

 **enjoy**

 **ps: my throat hurts, I can't breathe properly and I think I was run over by the Kagamine road roller. urgh.**

* * *

IX. Final Song

 _"Finally you are mine..."_

* * *

Within the silence of his room, Len pulled Miku closer to his chest.

She was beautiful, with smooth porcelain skin and flowing teal hair and fragile frame. Voice light as wind chimes, eyes shiny as emeralds. White silk of the dress caressed her skin softly. She was a quiet, frail angel - energy drained out of her, too weak to take care of herself as cruel demons cackled at her pathetic attempts of protecting him.

And he was mesmerized.

She tried. She tried to lift him off the ground, keep him safe in a tall, tall tower, far away from filth and human flaws. She'd run her fingers through his flaxen hair. She'd kissed his cheeks burning red due to embarrassment. She'd tried to heal his scarred, ebony heart. His abused body and wounded pride. She was all kindness, bright smiles, and reassuring words.

(He was not worth of her.)

He buried his face in the her shoulder as a strand of teal was twirled around his pinkie. This was what he wanted - what he always, always wanted ever since he met her. This fluttering sensation of love threatening to make his heart burst out of his chest. A foreign warmth (warmth that didn't belong to him) seeping from her to him, draining. Warm liquid dripped in between his fingers, and he ignored it.

She was all kindness, bright smiles, and reassuring words.

(He, though, was all destruction, demented wishes and frozen blades.)

After all this time, all these months, all these seconds waiting and waiting, he wanted to kiss her. He sighed, letting her spin and waltz in his head and drown him in the green sea inside her eyes. He wanted to kiss her, hold her, laugh with her, and... be with her. Just like this. Stay by her side, hugging her. He felt himself burning, and let out a lighthearted laugh. This joy... it was what he desired. What he craved for.

She was his. Finally, finally his.

Here, with him. Nobody else. Just him. Here, embraced by his arms, finally. And he could not explain this euphoria making him shiver uncontrollably. This was what he wanted, he laughed, this was what he needed - she was what he needed to get rid of that empty feeling in his chest. And she was here. He loved this. He loved her.

She was finally his and only his, he sobbed happily.

Finally.

(If he closed his eyes, he thought, he could pretend that she was just asleep.)


	10. Lives

**A/N: THANK GOD IT'S SCHOOL BREAK. YES FINALLY! *confetti rains down as "Plus Boy" plays in the background***

 **I give you a longish thingy of short thingies. (Notice that I was too tired to make anything better.) Enjoy.**

* * *

X. Lives

 _"With a spell they were fated to meet one another, regardless of the circumstances."_

* * *

1\. marionette

* * *

Gunshots sang in that night of new moon as a tempest of red petals spun around her frame, and she felt so free. The revolver bounced from hand to hand, firing and further spreading the petals. A melody nobody understood but her. Oh and how she adored this beautiful, beautiful sound - a pity that nobody understood her.

War was as alive within her as outside; the very source of distress in these countries. And she was nothing but another tool of destruction - a soldier, a puppet, what's the difference anyways? Everywhere crimson stained and left commoners to wail the loss of their loved ones. Unrecognizable corpses littered the streets, screams echoed in the air, the wind smelled of blood- oops, roses. She meant roses.

Haha, no.

She wasn't silly enough to delude herself, yet she preferred to use metaphors as it made her job less morbid (she didn't care that much; it simply sounded beautiful to her ears). She was nothing but a puppet used by the higher figures of her homeland - it wasn't awful, strangely.

And then she met that man.

Disturbingly flawless, he seemed to have been carved into marble as a male beauty of ancient times before gaining life. His flaxen hair glowed with dull light like a halo. His electric blue eyes glowed and burned as balls of flames, stars ready to explode into a wonderful, powerful supernova. Darkness was sewed to make his uniform; a soldier like her. He as well pointed a gun towards her.

Metal clashed and sang. None were injured, though. She wondered how she missed the shot.

Their foreheads bumped onto each other, and furious glares were exchanged. (For a second, she thought they were going to kiss, and gagged at her inconvenient imagination.) Their teeth glimmered like knives. Their eyes burst in hotter flames. But they didn't let go of their weapons which continued to threaten one another - threatening to fire and spill crimson.

It happened too fast.

A memory of them playing in a hill together among blooming flowers, laughing, carefree. Merely enjoying spring as they placed flowers in each other's hairs.

A secret promise to be friends forever, done during that same spring and under the oak tree they so liked to play.

Hands of adults harshly separating them from one another, screaming, and they desperately tried to stay together and protect the promise they had made.

A red string tied in their pinkies.

A simultaneous thought.

'Who... Who are you?'

And time crashed to a halt.

* * *

2\. hallucination

* * *

Len pulled his hood over his head, blocking the scene from his eyes - he didn't want to see it. The hood could hide the image, but not block the sounds though. And her shrieks of pain hurt him as much as the kicks hurt her.

They hated her because, according to them, a crazy person couldn't be better than them, normal people.

He approached her trembling frame as soon as the torture ended. Hopeless as she was, Miku reduced herself to a shaking shadow of herself wishing to be swallowed up by the floor or vanish away from existence by a beam of light. He, though, didn't want her to disappear. At least not yet.

At least not before the ones who hurt her pay for what they'd done.

Miku was schizophrenic, but she claimed to be able to control herself in public and rarely she did have a breakdown in school. She didn't shout at invisible monsters chasing her down, or sobbed in a corner. Miku was smart - a way smarter than him - and had perfect grades. If everyone didn't know of her condition, they would think she was normal.

Out of impulse, he ran his fingers through her tangled hair. Splashes of red shone against the teal; this very color sent him to the edge. "L-Len? Is that you...?" Miku sounded fragile and he hated it. He hated how those students could make her feel as she was made of glass. They treated her as an ugly patchwork doll - ripping her apart and patching her back up again to hide the damage they did. As if they were innocent.

She lifted her head and glanced at him with fearful eyes. The green of them was dull, almost grey. Empty of any emotion but fear and heartbreaking sorrow. Damn them. "I'm sorry I didn't- I don't know why I don't- I should have helped you instead of just standing there, watching. Watching. I shouldn't just watch." He sobbed pathetically, as if pleading for forgiveness.

Miku bitterly laughed. "How can you help me, Len, when you're just a hallucination?"

Ah, yes. She didn't know.

Miku thought he was another illusion of her mind than an actual living human being. Because he never stepped out of the shadows if they weren't alone. He was a bystander, watching happy and tragic events come and go. Always watching, always silent, always unseen. Len shouldn't be there as well. This wasn't his school, however it wasn't like he cared. To him, he was fated to be another person doing nothing but existing in an overpopulated world.

And she was the first one to notice him staring (or maybe the others pretended that he didn't exist). He didn't understand why, but this particular girl hit him hard as a bullet; he couldn't stop thinking about her, worrying about her, hoping to see her again, longing for her. Maybe it was that 'love in the first sight' crap, or whatever. Nevertheless, it hurt him to see her in such miserable state when she did nothing wrong.

"But your touch..." as she spoke, she slipped her hand into his, holding it firmly. She had a soft, blood-stained smile on her bruised face. Len was too stunned to move. "Your touch, your voice, you as a whole. You feel real, not a trick of my brain. Your warmth feels real."

"Sanity is relative. If you are real, then I, too, am real." He grabbed her chin, and she stared back at him. Something sparkled in her eyes, yet it died before he could identify the flash of emotion. "I am here for you, even if all I can do is watch. At least for now..." he trailed off. "B-but, remember that you aren't alone. I am here, I'm always here. I'll protect you, I promise. J-just give me time, please..."

"I know you'll keep your promise, Len."

She spoke as if she knew him more than he knows himself - and maybe she did. Len sighed. It wasn't time to explain anything. Miku needed to go to the infirmary quickly and be properly cleaned. Len would tell her the truth one day, yet today wasn't the day. For now she could keep thinking that he was a hallucination.

The knife inside his pocket, hidden from sight, could wait a little longer. He would start tomorrow; he couldn't wait to start.

* * *

3\. eating

* * *

"Miku~" the husky voice resounded through the room, making her flinch. Oh no, whenever he spoke like that it meant... "I'm starving. Can you make something for me?"

She wasn't even looking, yet she could practically see the smirk on his handsome face, with that dreadful air of 'you know what to do' around him. Her insides felt like ice, she felt like vomiting right then (the memories were coming back, god, and it's so awful) as she quietly went to work. Her steps were so loud, announcing the end of another one.

Struggles were pointless, as she was far used to her job of bringing him food. However, it still sickened her, how the blade penetrated the flesh of another prisoner and her ease at piercing through bone and plunging it back in and taking lives as if meant nothing. As if they were nothing than her lord's meals.

God, it was awful.

"Here's your dinner, milord." She backed away, as she should, and bowed before him. As she should. She tried to not focus on the blood staining her dress, or the gruesome replica of a descent meal.

(It wasn't even chicken. Or fish. Or anything like that. At least not something that should be eaten.)

Her lord beamed, nevertheless. "Lovely!" he cheered as a happy child, and proceeded to grab the fork and knife and begin eating. Because oh, he was so hungry.

She averted her eyes the instant the fork went down.

It took some minutes for him to finish; to her, it took hours until the disgusting slurping sounds finally ended, along with her torture of listening to every little sound he gleefully did as he ate. Something as that couldn't ever be considered proper. He tore flesh apart with his bare teeth, because he liked to feel it against his tongue and taste the juices flood his mouth wonderfully, driving him a little more insane with sensations until all he knew was the sadistic smirk and blood-stained lips.

Noblemen did not know her lord's strange appetite and sinful cravings - because, well, if one found out then he would send her to capture the fool immediately. It was their secret, and nobody else's. Because they were master and maid.

Because they were friends.

"What a splendid meal!" he never held back his joy after filling his ever so empty stomach. His deep blue eyes sparkled. "Was he too much of a bother, dear?"

"Uh, he kicked my shin, but... I'm fine, milord."

It wasn't a big deal, she was used to be kicked, to fight against resistance, however the very thought of her groaning in pain was more than enough for him to widen his eyes. Because he loathed when his dear, dear maid was hurt by his food. Because nothing and nobody had the right of hurting his precious maid.

Anger flashed in his eyes. He glared in absolute hate at the remains of the fool he just ate staining the otherwise clean plate. If he knew, he obviously would have devoured him alive as punishment for his crime. The sole hands which could hurt her were his, he claimed, and he wouldn't hurt her - before it, he would cut off his hands.

Abruptly, he pulled her and made her sit on his lap. "I wonder why you are still here, with me, even after years knowing what I do."

She shivered as his cold fingers began touching the back of her neck. His gentleness... it was something she ought to not be surprised. However, he stopped the fleeting caresses and pressed her closer to him, with something like passion gleaming in the deep blue, and she realized she was weak under him. She instantly melted when their lips met.

His kiss was fierce. Passionate. He, again and again, lightened that feeble, forbidden flame within her heart. It made her ponder what he actually felt for her - if he really was this protective, this possessive, this enamored with her as he claimed. Or was it only a trick of his to make her stay and do the dirty work? She didn't know and it frightened her.

But she did know that his lips tasted of cinnamon and blood.

"Milord..." she stuttered.

"No." He, not missing a heartbeat, sharply interrupted her. His gaze was stern, and his grip in her chin was firm. "For you - right here, with the two of us - I am no lord."

She gulped down a protest before it could escape from her mouth and displease him. "Len." His name rolled through her tongue as though always meant to be uttered by her.

"Correct." Then he resumed kissing her.

His allure, he'd whispered in her ear, was meant for her only. He was once married to a maiden of glossy blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes seemingly born out of roses and sunflowers - but he himself never loved her.

(He didn't even like her, really - the woman looked disturbingly similar to him, almost like they were twins or she was a female version of himself. She had been some important marchioness his parents shoved at him and practically ordered him to marry.)

When the woman wasn't looking and they were in private, he pulled her into his embrace and gasped out her name in worship and vows of eternal love, desperately clinging to her as if his life depended of her.

Then his wife discovered the truth, in the worst way possible; the languid strokes of his tongue evident on her neck, and his large, soft hands gripping her hips, everything within anyone's eyes to behold and be horrified. The maid and her lord, in bed together, in sinful activities meant to be done with his wife - but no, he refused to follow the rules. Defying the nature of things was his way to kill time. Because he liked it.

(Because he loved her.)

So, when she threatened to tell the Court what she knew, he got rid of her and publicly announced her dead by a terrible silent disease that ate her (quite literally) from inside out. He pretended to mourn for a few days, and resumed his routine like nothing happened.

Clumsily, she matched the intensity of the kiss, and he shuddered. His hands, gracefully, tore down her walls, running through the teal curls of her hair, cupping her cheeks, holding her waist, incinerating whatever he touched. He wanted everything and he would take everything. Like always. And just like this, she allowed him to mark her again - she, the naive, stupid maid.

He parted away for a brief moment, to catch his breath. He still whispered, "I love you - and because I love you, someday I'll discover how do you taste like. You will be my last supper before my reign ends."

Before she could question or cringe, he began once more.

* * *

4\. beauty

* * *

She was his beloved lady, though she wasn't any fairytale princess.

Miku was not perfect - far from it, she was someone most boys of his town considered unattractive. Her face was marred with pimples, her hair was usually tangled or messy, and she basically had no personality or guts at all. The red-rimmed glasses made her look weird, her shyness repelled all, and she was a loner, though she did have a (very) weak friendship with other kids of her age.

Everybody questioned him of why he followed her like her shadow and acted aloof towards other (and prettier) girls. He knew the answer but they wouldn't understand. Nobody would. Neither she believed in him.

She didn't believe how much he loved her, yet he did.

Miku dreamed in becoming a novelist. There were times she would ramble a whole elaborated and confusing plot to him, and he would lose himself between the poisonings and the connection of a noblewoman with a magical clockwork doll. There were times she would cry in his chest and lament that nobody wouldn't want to read her stories because they were awful and she was just losing her time.

She was a fragile, creative girl. A cracked porcelain doll putting up her best smile in hopes to be bought by a nice family, but all attention would go to the flawless dolls as she sobbed in her dusty shelf.

(And he was the tin soldier who refused to leave the broken doll's side.)

"A flower for my lady." He knew the line was extremely cheesy, something Miku hated (or so she said), yet he still said because he liked the way she puffed her blushing cheeks as he carefully placed the orange gladiolus in her hair.

"Oh please, Len, this isn't needed. Gosh, you're embarrassing me..."

At this, he laughed. "I can't help it; I'm a hopeless romantic, and you know that." Then he noticed her taking the blossom from her hair, and he stopped her. "Don't. Let it make you more beautiful."

"Len, I don't think I should have one of these in my hair. I'm not worth of this." Her modesty was a bit exaggerated, but still pretty. She did not realize how beautiful she was. He could tell her a billion times and she would still disbelieve him. A bright spirit, secretly embittered by loneliness - what could he do to heal her wounds? He asked himself everyday.

As her fingers moved again to take it, his eyes darkened. "If you remove this gladiolus from your hair, I'll take it as an offense." It was not a threat, rather a form to make her hesitate and think again of her actions. And it worked; she instead brushed a few bangs out of her face than going after the flower. Her glasses flashed. He knew she was thinking that she didn't deserve such treatment.

Her main flaw was low self-esteem. Miku could be strong and proud for a moment, but a wrong word and the mask breaks, and it shows her true self yearning for attention and love, scared of being left all alone. It was his duty to build her walls back when they broke down, to wipe clean her tears when she cried.

The gladiolus representing sincerity and strength of character; and for him, she was the strongest, sincerest person he'd ever met.

Miku fidgeted. "I don't know why you stay with an uninteresting girl such as me," was she going to begin again? Len sighed. Honestly, it was starting to get in his nerves. She continued, "but I'm glad you are here... You make me feel special, Len." She smiled sweetly.

Her smiles were precious, each of them, shone brighter than the stars and blinded him. She could not be beautiful in the outside, but inside she was most angelic, gorgeous creature in the entire universe. Len felt blessed for he was the only person who knew these smiles and could behold her overwhelming beauty even if she burned his eyes with such divine light.

If only he could make this light glow out of her... If only he could make others see how lovely she truly was...

"I'm glad."

Only she could make him feel this way; such faultless happiness that sent shivers down his spine while he kissed her forehead softly.

* * *

5\. mask

* * *

She was utterly aware of his reasons which made him wear that mask, yet still she persisted in try and catch a glimpse of his eyes.

His eyes, his eyes. They were his secret, and he was unwilling to show her or tell her about it. Several times had she asked about the true color of his eyes hidden behind the elaborated grey mask - his answer is always, "Choose a color for them, and imagine them as such. Because I won't ever take this mask from my face."

He, like herself, was not human in spite of his appearance. An epitome of male beauty, she mused. Flaxen strands framed his face and fell over the mask, smooth and shimmering bright with sunlight, like the halo of a saint. The skin was unmarred, no cut or discolored mark, nothing but the cold marble. His hands were soft like no other, nerves dancing in the tips. As a creature molded from the gods' very hands, he seemed to never have seen the world beyond blankets of silk, fleeting caresses and tales of a land he did not know.

"Take a picture. It will last longer, Medusa." His cheeky personality and malicious smirk annoyed her, as he chuckled with that voice of his. His velvety voice. Unique, smooth tenor that endlessly mesmerized her. Inhumane. No mortal has such a perfectly husky voice as his. He, obviously, was not human.

Nevertheless, she gritted her teeth. It was no secret that he mistook her name in purpose. "It's Miku, damn you." She snapped, and stopped herself from pouncing onto him and strangle him right where he stood. With the mask, she could not see his eyes, but she could see his lips tilting up into a sly smirk.

"Whatever you say, Medusa- oh, I mean, Miku." A sadistic cackle hid behind his teeth as he spoke. The masked man who was undeniably sexy adored to annoy her.

Pushing her glasses up, she scowled at him. Say that she hated him wearing that mask was preposterous - she absolutely loathed it, for she couldn't know what expressions he was doing. All she knew was his smiles. It frustrated her. Even so, she understood why he needed to wear the mask all the time.

(A glance and she would be dead.)

"You're a menace to my sanity." She hissed. Her right hand went up to smooth the teal curls, two or three strands catching in between her fingers. She imagined him, eyes gazing at her, half-lidded and sensuous, teasing her. He chuckled, at the ease he had in aggravating her. He'd said before though; he loved driving feisty females, such as her, mad with his sex appeal.

Her comment amused him. She thought of how narcissistic he must be. His canines flashed when he grinned. Unnatural. His fringe slightly resembled a golden crown, his ponytail slumped on the back of his neck. He was graceful; he walked gracefully towards her in a way that only boosted his already overpowering beauty. As if a nobleman approaching to ask a young maiden to be his bride.

She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from gagging. He would never ask her in marriage. If it was possible, he would prefer to marry himself.

"It is so obvious you are captivated by me."

A tiny feeling stirred within her when his right hand caressed her pigtails, feeling those curls wrapping in his slender, almost effeminate fingers. He breathed cinnamon on her face, and she felt that feeling growing stronger, fighting for attention. It must feel like when a special one says that they love her; she swallowed thickly. Anything he says was a lie, to reach her strings and play with her like a marionette.

He pulled her by her waist, closing the comfortable distance between them. She crashed on his chest, and he groaned; she preferred to not think in the warmth seeping from his lean body to hers, or in the way he shuddered when her hand brushed accidentally onto somewhere forbidden. When she tried slipping away from his suffocating embrace, he swiftly wrapped both arms around her frame, trapping her.

She struggled in vain. Damnit. "We are alone, my dear." He whispered in her ear. "There's no need for disguises."

The order was hidden beneath the statement, and she'd let the illusion wear off. The "pigtails" and "strands" changed fast, as teal-colored serpents hissed atop her head. He was not intimidated (why should he?) and began stroking her cheek. Two of her beloved snakes, small and delicate, wrapped around his wrist, as if wanting him to continue caressing their mistress.

Oh, if only she could punish them without feeling agonizing pain. "You look more beautiful without that silly disguise, my dear Miku. A wonderful creature such as you shouldn't ever hide themselves from sight." He flirted shamelessly.

Not bearing anymore of this joke, she sneered, "As if I need a compliment from a disgusting cockatrice like you, Len."

She realized her mistake too late, when he became silent and then hissed, bearing those dangerous fangs escaping from the illusion created to fool humans. Several needle sharp teeth glimmering and craving to tear her apart.

She immediately flinched under him. She was weak, she realized in fear, she was far too weak in comparison to the king of serpents. The cinnamon of his breath turned into something putrid; it smelled like death and was hot like flames.

He growled, "Don't you dare call me of that repulsive beast. I am a basilisk, the king of all serpents - if a dumb cockatrice ever dared to threaten my position, I would mutilate it and hang its organs across the land for its insubordination."

He was deadly serious. Despite many tales connecting basilisk to cockatrice, the serpents knew the real differences between each one - a basilisk was far more violent than a cockatrice, and its killing gaze was more powerful as well. And she knew how Len loathed to be called as such - he was proud of what he was, and to be compared to a weak creature was the highest of offences. If he wanted, he could kill her right then.

(But he didn't.)

Still annoyed, he grumbled, "If we didn't share a connection, I would murder you where you stand. However, I do not wish death upon my lovely Medusa. Nevertheless, watch out what you say or I'll be forced to punish you."

His breath returned to the cinnamon she knew. She was still confused. "What connection?"

As if flipping a switch, his mood changed and he was, again, that cocky man who looked down his nose at people and enjoyed teasing her in hopes of seducing her. His mirthful laugh echoed, "Ahh, innocent little Miku. Did they not tell you? Hm, maybe I should since we will soon become husband and wife in a matter of weeks, shouldn't I?"

She was growing furious. "What is it?" every word she growled was casually brushed off by his smile.

"Have you heard of that legend - of how a sorcerer chased down by crimes he did not commit fell in love with a woman and casted a spell to make them meet each lifetime of theirs?"

She nodded. Yes, she did; it was a bedtime story for children, a tragic tale filled with unrequited love and sorrow. A young sorcerer wishing for a normal life who fell irrevocably in love with a naive woman and ended everything with his own hands. Tragic indeed. Yet she didn't know where he was going with it.

Wait, he didn't mean...

Horror flared in her chest and stained her features, what was easily caught by him. Her realization caused him to laugh once more. "Correct, my lovely, lovely Miku." He laughed without letting her utter the sentence choked down her throat; it died there along with any protests.

A single thought crossed her mind, 'Oh great gods, why?'

"Fate is fickle, isn't it, wrapping this magic red string in our fingers?"

* * *

 **A/N: And it's (loosely) connected to A Sorcerer's Sorrow. dcco64, that was for ya! *violently tosses oneshot at all***

 **(how this piece of shit ended up so big? XD)**

 **Review if that's your thing.**


	11. Proposal and Golden Apples

XI. Proposal and Golden Apples

 _"A love such as this is sinful as the forbidden fruit, but just as beautiful and tempting."_

* * *

I love you.

Just three simple words changed the whole course of things. Defying the nature and rules that moved this world, Fate took a different direction the instant he suddenly decided to play a role that wasn't his - that never was supposed to his, yet he insisted to keep it. Despite knowing what he was and what he should do, he refused and sought out building a life which wasn't made for someone like him.

The vast garden of his castle was a special place where few had seen it, including herself. Flowers glittered under the cold moonlight, blooms made from scratch by magic and precious stones. But their smells were as sweet as normal flowers, and just as soft. It was not her first visit there, yet it felt like it. This garden never failed in surprising her.

He was not there, though. Miku wondered where he was, for he adored assaulting her with his proposals of marriage and vows of eternal love and devotion. That, and persuading her into biting a fruit from the golden apple tree in the very center of the garden. 'A bite and it's granted immortality to a mortal body.' He had told her when she asked him about those fruits he often ate.

But she was strong to resist its supernatural allure. Miku vehemently refused to bite the apple; her refusal wasn't enough for him to give up and he continued offering her his treasured apple.

Honestly she'd had enough. She told him countless times that her answer is no. She didn't want to marry right now - was he so obtuse, to not understand? It was rather infuriating. And he shamelessly kissed her and complimented her as though they were married, a playful smirk flashing on his handsome face while gazing at her lovingly with those intense eyes of his. She knew he liked to make her blush and how easy it was - she didn't like the warmth that crept to her cheeks.

It wasn't like she hated him, but his insistence made him annoying. Also, whenever he desired to talk to her or see her instead of visiting her like a normal person would, he kidnapped her. He did apologize for taking her from her home forcefully because it was rude and he loathed doing it, yet there was no other way for him to see her as the guards wouldn't let him in.

A fair point; she didn't like when he was right.

"My dear." She turned around, facing the man who (apparently) fell irrevocably in love with her. A ripe apple sat in his hand, reflecting her own emotionless expression as if a mirror. Its flesh, flawless and shining gold. "My dear, dear Miku. So, you finally have woke up."

His smile was relaxed, with no trace of malice to mislead her.

"Len." She watched him tossing the apple from a hand to another. He wasn't wearing gloves. She wondered why. "I'd heard that today is your birthday, huh? Well, happy birthday."

Len's smile widened, growing amused. The fur colored of a soft shade of cream of his black coat tickled his neck - it, she wondered, must had belonged to a stunning beast in the past. Now its fur adorned the clothing of an even more beautiful one. The golden apple glimmered, tempting. "Thank you, dear. It's good to know you care for me enough to remember my birthday."

Then he stopped tossing the apple and held it firmly. Slowly, he pierced the flesh with his nails and crushed it between his hands; a shimmering amber liquid dripped from the fruit, smearing his bare fingers. Len didn't react, only stared back at her.

This disturbed her, and he noticed it. Something shone between his index and thumb, seemingly clean. His smile turned into a smirk. She finally realized it was a ring. A wedding ring. With a single opal in the center. A very familiar wedding ring with a single opal in the center. 'Oh no, not again.' She groaned in her mind because it was obvious what would be said in the next five seconds.

"When will you become my bride, dear Miku?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Len, I told you already - I do not wish to marry right now, so your answer is no."

"Hypothetically speaking, then - would you marry me?"

She paused. Despite everything, she admitted Len wouldn't be a bad husband. But like hell she would say that out loud. "No. When will I return home?"

"That's all you think about? How disappointing." He shook his head, but he was smiling nonetheless. The liquid dripped off his hands on the ground, no trace remaining on his skin somehow.

The opal ring shone an iridescent rainbow at her eyes.

"I haven't gotten to see you recently. Can't we relax among the ruby roses and talk? I've missed you."

To make her stay a little longer, he would do anything.

A flower of amber bloomed from the liquid staining the soil. Swiftly he plucked the flower and tucked in her hair. He didn't say anything, and walked back inside the castle.

Miku was quiet for a short while, before snatching the blossom from her teal strands. She wasn't thinking of anything when she tossed it on the ground and crushed it under her boot; it cracked and then shattered like glass. A minute passed until she realized what she'd done. Miku shook her head. It didn't matter. He would forgive her.

He always did.

He, as a dark lord, was supposed to plunge this world into an era of eternal darkness and endless despair and rule over it - but no. He didn't want any of that. Len was not ambitious. Did not want to rule. All expectations placed on his shoulders never allowed him to have what he truly wanted, so he shrugged them off once his parents were gone and decided to live by his own.

As a child (as Len himself described to her), he was very innocent and kinder than his brothers - the white sheep of the family. While they were crushing flowers under their boots and poisoning rivers, he was chasing butterflies happily and restoring any damage his family caused in their wake. Even if his blood was cursed and deemed demonic, all Len wanted was peace and to be loved by who he was.

She didn't know exactly when he began liking her that way, but she supposed that it wasn't so bad - at least he wasn't aggressive. Miku couldn't imagine Len with a murderous gaze gleaming within his blue eyes, like the shine on a knife. His fingers were incapable of hurting, of destruction, his grin was playful yet sincere, and nothing - absolutely nothing - about him was cruel. A beautiful, alluring painting of a gentle and cursed lord.

The shards of the broken flower glimmered at her face, taunting. Miku sighed.

She could convince him into letting her go. It would hardly work. Len was persistent and a natural smooth-talker. If he could, he would keep her within his sight and cover her in jewelry and promises of a perfect life. (He'd said that he would give the stars and the moon if she so desired, although he himself was more attached to the simplest things.)

And Len, despite having all time of the world, tried skipping a few steps to her heart. Eternity made him lazy, and since Miku wasn't immortal and hadn't eaten a golden apple, he had a limited time until she passed away - he couldn't be too slow-paced about it. She still found him impatient, but learned to live with it.

"Miku, dear. Where are you?" his voice resounded from the castle to the garden; even loud, his tone was calm and collected.

She could think of home later. As for now, she needed to bear that dark lord's presence until he decided to take her back.

* * *

 **A/N: Look at the title and laugh at it. Ah I don't know anymore, just take this trash please. I'm so done. My symbolism needs improvement urgently.**

 **Written with 'Panda Hero' and 'Genealogy of Red, White and Black' as background music. /sigh**

 **But if you somehow enjoyed it, please leave a review!**


	12. Decay

heLLO HAVE U MISSED THIS TRIP OF MADNESS

* * *

warning. some gore.

* * *

XII. Decay

 _"For countless years he had protected her."_

* * *

"Mika. Mika, wake up."

Her eyes snap open immediately, bright and confused. She gasps at her racing heart and she feels tired, as if she'd been running for hours. Reality comes crashing upon her, dragging her down, down, down.

Her hand shoots up to cling to something and keep herself above the water. Her fingers claw on a soft material, curling around it. Gripping it.

She looks up and sees him.

"Lemuel?" her voice falters. But she remembers him pushing her away from the incoming truck. She remembers the sickening crack coming from his bones. She-

Lemuel places a finger over her lips, a feather-soft touch that sends her nerves into overdrive. His smile is warm and loving as always. His eyes are the same calming shade of cerulean blue. His hair is the same glimmering blonde, framing his face perfectly. When he speaks, his voice is the exact same mellow tone; he murmurs, "It's okay, my darling. I'm right here. I'm here."

She giggles at his touch. She pushes those unwanted memories into the darkness - they don't matter, Len is right here. He's real, he's alive, he's okay. He's smiling, like he always does. That must've been a nightmare.

She throws herself into his arms, and he promptly catches her. His laugh is beautiful, contagious. Nothing matters but him.

She opens her mouth to greet him and-

.

.

"Milena? Milena, wake up."

Her eyes snap open immediately, weary and tired. She gasps at her racing heart and she feels tired, as if she'd been awake for days. Reality comes crashing upon her, dragging her down, down, down.

Something feels familiar about this as she searches for something to cling to. Her small, shaky hands find the rough fabric of a sleeve, and she pulls herself up.

She looks up and sees him.

"Levi?" her voice cracks midway. Her mind is bombarded by images of him bringing her to a safe place before leaving to defend what remained of her fallen kingdom. She remembers him fighting fiercely at the entrance, to stop any soldiers from finding her. She remembers him being hacked to pieces by the enemy army. She-

Levi pats her head, smiling that sunny smile of his. His eyes shine that same shade of Prussian blue. His golden locks shimmer, unruly as always, braided back into a short ponytail. When he speaks, his voice is the exact same cheerful tone; he chuckles, "Finally you woke up, my princess! There's nothing to worry, now. I'm here."

She wants to ask him if the war has stopped, but she's too focused on the fact that he's here, he's real and he's alive. Those scenes must've been a nightmare. Maybe there was no war at all. Maybe it was all in her head.

(Something is wrong. Something is really, really wrong. She can't put her finger on it, but-)

He pulls her into a tight embrace and he laughs heartily, and she laughs with him. She notices the blooming bruises across the skin of his face, arms and neck. She shrugs the concern off; he's a warrior. It's normal for him to have bruises.

Though it feels a bit wrong.

She opens her mouth to ask him about the bruises and-

.

.

"Michelly. Michelly, wake up."

Her eyes snap open immediately, frantic and scared. She gasps at her racing heart and she feels tired, as if she'd been chased by demons for weeks. Reality comes crashing upon her, dragging her down, down, down.

She can't breathe. Her hands frantically search for something to cling to, and they grip the silky fabric of a sleeve. She trembles; something is wrong and she knows it. Dread rattles in her bones. Everything about this is wrong.

She looks up and sees him.

"Leopold?" her voice is nearly inaudible. This doesn't make sense. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't! She remembers him guiding her through the ravine as they ran from the laboratory. She remembers him shielding her from the shootout. She remembers the deafening silence when bullets pierced his body. She-

Leopold sighs and shakes her hands off. There's that secret smile of his shining on the edges, invisible to all but her - it's reserved only for her, he'd said. His eyes are the same dangerous shade of blizzard blue, reflecting ruthlessness. He never seems to bother brushing his shaggy dirty blonde hair, so it's tied back into a messy low ponytail. When he speaks, his voice is the exact same cold tone; he huffs, "Goodness, you shouldn't be such a heavy sleeper, really. But no matter. I'm here, now."

She wants to spit some snarky response, but her heart doesn't calm down; he shouldn't be here, it screams in each beat, he shouldn't be here, this shouldn't be happening! Not again, not again.

(Not again? This never happened before.

Wait, no.

No, she- she remembers it. She-)

Suddenly she notices how scarred his face is. Scratches, bruises, wounds... Blood drips down his jaw, but he doesn't seem to realize it. Don't they hurt? She knows he has to keep the tough guy façade at all costs, but this is ridiculous. She barely reacts when he hugs her, muttering how worried he was. She knows he's reckless and sometimes outright stupid, but-

But this isn't right! He's not that stupid!

She opens her mouth to scream at him and-

.

.

"Mikuru. Mikuru, wake up."

Her eyes snap open immediately, dim and wary. She gasps at her racing heart and she feels tired, as if she'd been going through the same thing for years. Reality comes crashing upon her, dragging her down, down, down.

Her hands reach out for something to cling to, but then she recoils when her fingers touch the wet fabric of a sleeve. Everything comes back and she clearly remembers it now. She tries closing her eyes shut, but she can't; she stares with horror at the previously yellow kimono drenched in blood.

She looks up and sees him.

"Rentarou?" her voice is a breathless gasp. This time she remembers more than she should, though her mind focuses on the scenes where he shields her from the villagers' wrath with his own body, where he vows her eternal love and smiles despite the knives slashing his back, where he dies smiling at her feet and shifts back to his original form of a golden fox.

Rentarou tilts his head, smiling. His eyes are the same shade of royal blue. His hair is the same spiky flaxen, pulled back in a loose ponytail by black ribbon. But nothing of this is more important to her than the gaping wounds across his face, the exposed muscle, his torn apart torso, the fact she can see his bones, clean from muscle, at some parts.

His voice doesn't changes - it never does. It's the exact same gentle tone, despite the blood bubbling from between his lips; he says, "And so my dear bride wakes up - oh, I know you don't like when I call you that, but you know. As you can see, I'm here. I'm here so there's absolutely nothing to worry about! I'm here."

Is he, really? Is he really here? She can't believe his words, no matter how hard she tries. How many times has this repeated itself? Why doesn't he stop? Why does he keep doing this?

Why, why, why, why, why-

She opens her mouth to beg him to stop and-

.

.

.

-he whispers the same thing for the millionth time, "You're safe now. I'll always protect you."

.

.

.

"Mikayla. Mikayla, wake up."

She doesn't open her eyes. She won't. A broken fairytale and a meaningless promise won't make her return to such reality where he goes through the worst deaths known by mankind over and over again. What had she done all these years but watch him die and writhe and suffer because of her?

"Mikayla," he calls her again, but she doesn't look up.

Even as a skeleton she recognizes Lenard's (Lemuel? Levi? Leopold? Rentarou? Who else?) gentle touches on her skin. He must have the same warm smile, the same turquoise eyes, the same canary yellow hair tied in a ponytail. Did he ever change? His voice starts as Lenard, then it shifts between all of them - all versions of the same boy who swore upon his soul to protect her from everything - until they become a perfect harmony and she can't tell who's hugging her.

"Mikayla, please," he pleads. She can't do this anymore. She can't continue being the reason of his suffering. She crushes her eyes shut, though a lonely tear escapes. It trickles down her cheek.

She wants him to leave. She wants him to forget her and never come back for something like her. She doesn't want him to die. She doesn't-

"Mikayla, did you come to hate me?"

Her eyes snap open at his assumption. She stares wide-eyed at what was once Lenard's smiling face - now, it's a mere sorrowful ghost. The bones rattle quietly as he squirms under her gaze. He seems ready to dissolve into dust.

"Mikayla," he calls again, desperately, mandible immobile - he could be calling her in her mind for all she knows.

She hugs him suddenly, tightly. Ignores his surprised yelp, just tightening the hug a little more. He's real, he's here, but he is not alive. He hasn't been alive since a long time.

She whimpers, "Stop. Please just stop. I don't want you to die. I don't want you to sacrifice yourself for me. Please."

He shivers in her arms.

"Please live. Just stay by my side. You don't have to prove anything. Just... just stay with me."

He sobs.

"You don't have to be strong, or to protect me, or anything."

She scoots back to face him. Tears trickle from his empty sockets. She can see the faces of all those boys who died for her in this sad skeleton.

She smiles the best she can.

"Just being here, with me, is enough."

He doesn't answer her, but she somehow knows he is smiling.

.

.

.

"Len. Len, wake up."

She sees him opening his eyes slowly. He looks around, disoriented at the amount of light on his face. His hand searches hers, and she gladly holds it between her palms. His head snaps to her side.

He smiles. "Are you hurt?"

She wants to slap him. How could he ask her such a thing, when he's the one who almost died for the ninth time (in this life)? He seems not to be satisfied until he successfully sacrifices himself for her sake.

"I told you to stop," she deadpans.

He laughs, though he winces in pain a moment later. "I'm sorry, Miku. It's a bad habit."

Miku sighs but smiles anyways. This boy is impossible. No matter how many centuries pass, or whatever they go through in their several lives, he doesn't stop wanting to protect her.

* * *

hooray to differently named miku & len and a confusing, rushed plot?

(i'm quite obsessed with differently named miku & len reincarnation shit and whatnot, send help pls)

i was trying to upload this for a long time, omg. can't believe it's finally up ;w;


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